


Touched by the Moon

by Zidana123



Category: Kakumeiki Valvrave | Valvrave the Liberator
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-17
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-04-21 04:12:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 175,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4814501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zidana123/pseuds/Zidana123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The course of an entire life can depend upon such fleeting moments. A few words left unspoken. A few seconds left uninterrupted. For Haruto and Saki, the span of mere heartbeats can change the flow of history. Having decided to share their burdens, they take their first steps together. A divergent fic from Episode 10. Haruto x Saki. Akira x Yamada. Rated Mature for violence and lemons.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1 - The Day After

Hotter. Hotter. Hotter. Hotter.

She twisted the knob until it could turn no more. Until the jets of heated water cascading down scalded her skin. The water splashing to the blue tile floor under her feet darkened with dissolving dirt.

At any other time, she never could have tolerated showering with water this hot. But now it somehow wasn't hot enough. She scrubbed roughly at her skin, reddened from the heat. Even as the dirt from the shrine washed off her body, she still felt unclean, as if an unseen layer of grime clung to her.

And inside...

She probed at herself with her fingers. As she pulled her hand away a pink filament of liquid stretched from her fingertips-and then it was gone, dissolving away into the sluicing water.

She cleaned herself methodically, scouring herself out with two fingers. When the only thing left was clear running water, she went back to scrubbing at her skin. Face. Shoulders. Breasts. Back. Thighs.

Something curious had happened to her state of mind. Her thoughts came slowly, piecemeal like thread unwinding from a spool.

_'Shouldn't I feel disgusted? Horrified?'_

But she felt nothing like that. If anything, she just felt... numb.

_'Ah... I'm in shock. That's normal, isn't it? It's normal for people to go into shock when they're...'_

The spool of her thoughts curled up tightly on itself for a moment, then grudgingly wound back out a single word.

_'Raped.'_

_'Yes, that's the word for what happened. Rape.'_

_'I was raped by Haruto.'_

_'But... it wasn't Haruto, was it?'_

For a moment, Haruto's face swam before her eyes, his boyishly handsome features contorted in pain and need, red eyes blazing, bracketed by glowing slashes.

_'It was the curse. Not Haruto. The curse of the Kamitsuki. Our curse.'_

To her surprise, that thought sank with a small and unexpected sweetness into the core of her being.

_'Our curse. Our bond. Those two may be pilots, but this bond is ours and ours alone.'_

It was enough. She was as clean as she was going to get. Under the redness, her skin was flawless as it had been since her transformation, save for the mark on her left leg. The cuts and bruises left by Haruto were gone, faded even before she'd gotten all the way down the shrine stairs.

_'Like it never happened, right?'_

A bitter half-smile curved Saki's lips as she turned off the water. If only it were so simple.

* * *

He lay in the darkness of his bunk, disgust and horror eating a hole in his gut.

When he had come down from the shrine with his torn shirt tied around his waist, the auditorium was still ablaze with light. Someone had put on music, and the faint tones of Rukino-san's cheery singing wafting from the building had sent a stab of guilt twisting through him. He'd crept back to the dorm in shame, grateful for the darkness and the fact that everyone else in the module, including L-Elf, seemed to be occuped with the post-election celebration.

He'd tried to walk Rukino-san back to campus, but she'd flinched away from him, telling him in a quiet voice that she would be fine on her own. And just like that she was gone. He'd been too dazed with shock to follow her immediately, and by the time he'd collected himself she'd vanished in the night. And what could he do after that? Chase her down? Force her to accept his escort? As if he hadn't already...

Ever since he'd gotten out of Valvrave for the second time, he'd known that he and Shoko could never be together. But he had never understood so clearly before just how twisted and inhuman he had become. It would be better for her and for everyone if he WAS revealed and locked away.

In the dark, his mind spun through wild fancies. He imagined Rukino-san going to Nanami-sensei, telling everyone what he had done. He imagined them denouncing him, throwing him in a jail cell to rot. He imagined Shoko turning her back on him. And it would be no more than he deserved, monster that he was. How could he have done that to Rukino-san? Why hadn't he stopped himself?

He squeezed his eyes shut in misery. He could never remember wholly what happened during the fits, but bits and pieces would come to him afterward. He saw again the terror in Rukino-san's eyes as she struggled under him, felt her nails digging into his wrists as she tried to get him to stop. Even as a human, she'd fought beside him. Risked her life to help him recover his body and Valvrave from the Dorssians. And he had repaid her kindness with that...

And yet he knew deep down that Rukino-san would never tell a soul. From the time he spent piloting with her, he had learned she was rash and mercurial, but doggedly loyal. No, she wouldn't talk. She would carry it around inside her, no matter what it did to her. If he never said a word then neither would she, just like Shoko. She would go on piloting Valvrave with a smile, just like it never happened.

He owed Rukino-san more than to just let her suffer in silence. But when he thought about giving himself up and confessing his crime, bleak despair welled up in him. He could deal with, even welcome public denouncement and imprisonment, but the prospect of Shoko looking at him in revulsion was too much to bear.

There was no way he could do it.

_'I'm such a coward...'_

He was a monster; a monster that deserved to be punished. And yet he didn't have the courage to face his punishment?

_'I have to make things right...'_

No, even as he thought it, he knew that was wrong. There was nothing he could do that would ever make it right.

_'But I can atone for what I did. Even if I can't turn myself in, I can still atone to Rukino-san.'_

Yes. His mind seized on the idea. The guilt churning in his gut didn't vanish, but a measure of calm settled over him. Yes. Even a monster could seek atonement.

Haruto rose. Crossing the room to his desk, he picked up his cell and dialed Rukino-san's number.

* * *

She got two text messages while she was sleeping.

Saki read them on her way to the girls' showers. The first one was from Haruto, asking her to meet him in front of the clock on Chokiba road at 10:00.

_So that Haruto wants to apologize, does he? How inconsiderate, asking to meet at ten. What if I hadn't been able to sleep?_

Truth be told, she'd surprised herself by falling asleep immediately after getting into bed. If she'd dreamed, she didn't remember having done so, and she woke up feeling refreshed. The weird stilted thinking patterns of last night were gone, and the disgust and horror she'd expected to feel later never materialized. Instead she felt a vague optimism bubbling up at the sight of Haruto's text. Here was a chance!

The second text was from Shoko-san.

Minister of Public Relations, huh? She'd take that.

But a photo shoot for all the ministers, also scheduled for 10:00? If it were any other time, she'd be leaping at the spotlight. Today, however...

_Sorry, Shoko-san. I'll be with Haruto at ten, so you'll just have to do without me!_

* * *

Saki sang happily under her breath as she changed into her uniform back in her dorm. Her shower had ended up being unexpectedly long, a good fifty minutes, even though she'd gone in intending to make it quick. Maybe she'd gotten extra sweaty or something while sleeping last night.

"Aaaaah, kimi to tomo ni, hmm~hmm~hm~hmmm..."

_'And maybe a little makeup... nothing too fancy.'_

She dabbed a little mascara onto her lashes.

_'Just to set them off...'_

And a little lip gloss.

_'Done!'_

Saki gave herself an experimental smile in the mirror. A good makeup job was subtle, hard to notice yet still effective, and from the delicate pink of her lips and the definition of her lashes against her eyes, she knew she had accomplished exactly that.

Pleased with a job well done, she stepped to the entryway and reached for her tan boots, the ones that went with her school uniform. They were lying against the wall, right where she'd kicked them off when she'd come in last night. She really should have taken better-

**_The dirt was cold under her bare feet. Slipping on one boot, she raised her head to look for the other. When had she lost her boots? Somehow they'd come off when Haruto-_ **

Saki pulled her hand back. The skin between her shoulder blades was chilly with sweat. Her stomach rolled in her belly, slow and queasy. For a moment she thought she might retch.

Then the moment was over, and she was still in a half-crouch, reaching for her boots.

_'Get a hold of yourself, girl!'_ She thought angrily at herself. _'They're just a pair of boots!'_

And yet she didn't want to wear them anymore. At all.

Well, the solution to that was simple, wasn't it? Scowling, Saki pulled her backup pair of boots out of the closet.

_'Pink goes with the ribbon and the skirt, so it's not like a fashion crime or anything.'_

Satisfied with her color coordination, Saki slipped out the door.

* * *

Haruto shuffled his feet as he climbed down the overpass stairs. He hadn't slept a wink all night, going over what he was going to say to Rukino-san in his head.

_'I say I'm sorry for what I did, then I propose to her, tell her I want to atone. That I'll take responsibility. Yeah. Like that.'_

A part of him realized he was getting close to their meeting spot, and he looked up from his feet right up into the bosom of the bikini-clad model on a Sunrise Water billboard plastered across a nearby building.

The sight of all that exposed flesh brought back the image of Rukino-san as he'd last seen her, forlornly draped in his jacket, pale skin glowing in the moonlight. Remorse knifed through him, and as he took a step, his foot skidded out from under him. He tipped backwards, landed on his rear, rebounded somehow, and went sprawling down the last dozen or so steps to the sidewalk.

"Haruto!"

Haruto looked up at the sound of running footsteps and a feminine voice calling his name. Right in front of his face were a pair of very pink calf-high boots, attached to the slender legs of a scowling Rukino-san.

"Good grief, Haruto. You're so clumsy. Are you okay? Wait, of course you are. Healing factor."

"I'm fine." Haruto checked himself over. His clothes were a little rumpled, and there was a scrape on the heel of his right hand where he'd landed on it. But even as he noticed it, the gouged skin smoothed out until there was no trace of the injury.

Rukino-san put her hands on her hips. "You're late!"

He was? Had he screwed up again? Haruto looked at the clock across the street. 9:45. "Sorry... Didn't I say ten?"

"You made me wait, so it's the same as being late, isn't it?" Rukino-san huffed.

_'Ahhh... she's angry. Of course she would be...'_

"I'm sorry..."

"I guess I forgive you."

She certainly didn't LOOK like she had forgiven him. Her arms were still crossed and she was still scowling. Hurriedly, he launched into his prepared speech.

"Rukino-san, I called you because..." He trailed off as she abruptly turned around and walked off. "Rukino-san?"

"Do you really want to talk in the street?" She threw back at him.

There wasn't anything he could do but follow.

_'I guess she knows where she's going...'_

* * *

Saki had no idea where they were going.

Walking away from Haruto like that seemed like the right thing to do, at the time. She had to keep him off-balance. Otherwise...

_'I won't let you apologize so quickly.'_

But now an uncomfortable silence had grown up between them, her leading and him following. Without a destination in mind, she felt more like she was running away from Haruto than anything else. It chafed at her. Here she had time alone with him, and yet...

Behind her, Haruto mumbled, "Uhm, Rukino-san..."

Saki was torn between relief at him breaking the silence, and frustration at his hesitant tone. He was probably trying to apologize again.

"No. We'll talk once we reach a good spot."

But where was a good spot? A patch of blue by a storefront caught her eye.

"Look, there! That blue one!"

"That? But it's a bar..."

He was such a stick in the mud! Her voice came out shriller than she intended. "It's fine, isn't it?! We're ministers now, we can just change the law!"

Saki swept into the bar and plunked herself down in a chair in front of the counter. As Haruto came in behind her, she turned and gave him a commanding look. "Let's have two milk teas."

"Two...?" Haruto looked confused for a second. "Yes, right away!" He stripped off his jacket, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and began to poke and prod manfully at the tea dispenser behind the bar counter.

It took him a while to get the hang of it, but Haruto finally managed to figure out the machine and produce two cups of milk tea. He set one down before Saki, and then took his own and slid into a chair on the other side of the counter.

Now that Saki had a moment to watch him, she realized he wasn't looking too good. His boyishly cute face was haggard and there were faint black shadows under his eyes. Hadn't slept since last night, most likely.

_'Ah... Haruto. You've been taking this hard, haven't you? Even for something that wasn't your fault?'_

She was wrong to treat him so harshly, she realized. Thinking back, she understood now that she HAD been angry at him ever since she'd seen him this morning; a misplaced anger, because it was easier to focus it on him than at something nebulous like a curse or their circumstances. But what would her anger accomplish? He was no doubt already punishing himself in his own heart more than anything she was willing to do.

_'He's just as much of a victim in this as I am. More so. I chose that curse, knowing full well what it was, after all.'_

"Haruto, over here." Saki patted the seat next to her.

"Oh... okay." He hesitantly moved over to the adjacent seat. Was he nervous about being near her?

She took a sip of her milk tea. The hot sweet liquid settled into her core and warmed her nicely. "Mmmm... nice tea, Haruto."

"Thanks." He glanced down at his own cup, then back up at her. "About what happened..."

"Drink your tea, Haruto. It's best when it's hot." Saki chided him gently.

"Ah. Right."

"It's good, isn't it?"

"Yes."

They sat drinking their milk teas in silence for a moment.

It was nice. She'd never spent this kind of time alone with Haruto before. It was always Dorssian Navy this or Kamitsuki attack that. Even the time they'd spent working on the Sakimori promo video was filled with shop talk. Never time to just sit and enjoy themselves.

In fact, now that she thought about it, it was the first time she'd been alone with a boy doing pleasantly nothing. Too young before she became a star. Too busy getting famous after becoming an idol. And all of the boys at Sakimori were twits, too entranced with her former status to be of interest to her. Until Haruto, of course.

_'A date, then? My first real date with a boy?'_

How messed up was her life, that it took being raped for her to get a date with the boy she liked? The boy who was in love with someone else?

_'I'll take it though. Yes. Even if it's for one day, and I have to give him back to Shoko-san tomorrow. I'll always have this.'_

_'I should enjoy it while it lasts.'_

"Haruto."

Haruto snapped to attention. "Yes?"

Saki smiled at him. "After you finish your tea, let's get something to eat."

* * *

Rukino-san's demeanor had changed completely since leaving the bar. The surly and grumpy side of her from earlier was gone, replaced by quips and laughter as she dragged him all around the town.

She was so hard to understand. So tempestuous. The anger from before he got; what girl wouldn't be angry after what he did to her? But this happiness? In any event he'd realized she didn't want to talk about what had happened, and so he kept his mouth shut on his proposal after her third rebuke.

But as Haruto followed in her wake, something strange and wonderful was happening to him. The ball of guilt and remorse in his belly slowly smoothed out, his conscience eased by her smiles.

He couldn't wholly shake the idea that she was just pretending to be happy, and he hoped if she was pretending, it wasn't for his sake. But she didn't seem to be faking... Although it was so hard to tell with her.

The atmosphere had changed completely as well, to something almost like... a date? Not that he would know. He'd only been on one in his life, back in middle school with that girl whose name he couldn't recall at the moment. And that had been really awkward.

Really, really awkward.

_'An idol like Rukino-san is probably an old pro at dating.'_

Since that was the case, he was glad she was running the show.

"Ahhh..." Rukino-san had stopped in front of a fountain in the middle of an intersection. She peered down the street in all four directions, and then turned towards him with a huge smile, her eyes sparkling.

"I've always wanted to do this!" She laughed. Taking off her boots and socks, Rukino-san stepped into the fountain's shallow pool. The fountain was one of those affairs with a spinning curtain of water that rotated around the pool's circumference, and as the moving screen of water approached her, Rukino-san began to spin and dance, staying just in front of the advancing water.

Haruto watched her, his mouth agape. Droplets of water gleamed in Rukino-san's dark hair as it swirled and rippled in time with her movements, framing her exuberent face. Her slender body moved with supple grace as she whirled through the water, her bare ankles cutting smooth wakes through the liquid in the pool. She was so beautiful that his heart contracted and seemed to skip a beat.

Was this the idol that everyone else saw? Although he had never really been interested in her music videos or shows before, he was filled with a sudden urge to go and buy every bit of her work he could get his hands on. But before he could think too much about that, Rukino-san shouted at him from the far side of the fountain.

"Haruto! Lose your shoes! Lose your shoes!"

_'Ah, she wants me to...'_

Haruto stepped out of his shoes and socks just in time before Rukino-san swept back around the fountain, laughing happily and pulling him into the pool with an outstretched hand. He hadn't taken two steps in the shallow water when he realized two things:

One: The bottom of the pool was ALOT slipperier than it looked. Two: Rukino-san must have been cheating somehow, because there was no way a normal person could do that spinning dance number with this kind of footing.

For the second time in a day, Haruto's foot skidded out from under him, and down he went on his butt in the water, kicking up a splash that drenched him from the waist down. Rukino-san stopped in her tracks to laugh at him, but a moment later the moving curtain of water from the fountain swept over her, and she let out a loud and dismayed "KYAAA!" as she jumped out of the pool.

The two grinned at each other, somewhat soggy. This time, Rukino-san helped Haruto to his feet.

* * *

Saki hadn't planned it, but seeing the pharmacy made her realize there was something she had to do.

As she came to a halt, Haruto nearly walked into her from behind.

"Wah! Rukino-san! I'm sor-

"It's fine. Haruto, I need to stop in here for a moment. Could you..." She scanned the street for some errand she could distract him with. "Oh! Haruto, look! There's a crepe cart over there!"

And indeed there was. On the other side of the street there sat a common crepe cart, the kind that cooked crepes on an electric griddle with a filling to order. This one looked in good condition, untouched by the fighting that had damaged so many buildings in the heart of the city.

"Do you think you could get it running and make some crepes for us, Haruto?"

"I could, but... what is it you need to get in there, Rukino-san? I could help you carry-"

So it was going to be like that, was it? Not that she didn't appreciate him offering to help, but she did NOT want him coming into the pharmacy with her.

"Thanks, Haruto, but it's just... a little thing, you know..."

"It's alright, even if it's little, I want to help-"

_'You're too nice for your own good, Haruto.'_ She turned her face slightly away from him, and gave him her best shy look from under her eyelashes. "It's... you know... for feminine hygiene... don't make me say it, Haruto-kun..." She flicked her gaze to him, then to the ground as if embarrassed.

Saki had to hold back a laugh as Haruto's face turned bright red. _'Oh, Haruto. I can't help teasing you. You're just too cute!'_

"Yes, well, I'll-I'll go get those crepes done!"

And before she could even blink, Haruto was halfway across the street.

_'You're such an innocent boy, aren't you, Haruto?'_

It was his most endearing quality, really. Saki found herself smiling ruefully. One moment he could be standing up to the teeth of the Dorssian Navy, and the next, he was a blushing boy, embarrassed at the thought of a girl doing personal shopping.

_'But there's no time to dwell on that now, is there?'_

Her smile fading, Saki walked through the pharmacy door.

Inside, she quickly strode across the dusty floor, her footfalls echoing in the deserted building. The feminine hygiene aisle lay to her left, filled with rows of tampons, pads, and other feminine care products, but she walked past it. The truth was, her dorm room was well-stocked with such things, and if she needed more she'd simply stop by the school infirmary.

No, she was here for something else entirely.

Making her way to the back of the store, she stopped before a shelf of pills. She swept her gaze across them carefully, then picked up a package.

_'So that's what 'morning after' pills look like... just your everyday normal medicinal tablets.'_

There was no way she could risk a pregnancy. Not with the war on. Not with hundreds of her fellow students depending on her to fight in peak condition. And if she did get pregnant, how could she justify bringing her unborn baby out with her to the battlefield?

She quickly looked over the instructions on the package, ripped it open, and dry-swallowed one of the pills. She was about to walk away with her prize when she had second thoughts. Grabbing a bag from a nearby rack, she filled it with packages of contraceptives. It never hurt to be prepared.

* * *

Haruto had managed to get the griddle going by the time Rukino-san emerged from the pharmacy.

The good news: the griddle was linked to the module's main power system through a port in the ground, and all he had to do was flip a switch to turn it on.

The other good news: there were a dozen plastic bags of crepe mix in the crepe cart. And they were the instant, just add water variety too!

Yet more good news: there was a mixing bowl handy, and with some water from a tap in the cart he'd managed to make a good-sized batch of batter.

The bad news: the fresh fruit toppings on the cart had gone to mold and slime since the war started.

The good news that made up for the bad news: there were bottles of syrups of all flavors, candy toppings, and dehydrated 'marshmallows,' all chock full of preservatives and ready to last into the next decade, if necessary.

The bad news that may have made all the previous good news irrelevant: Haruto had no idea how to make a crepe.

He ladled a good-sized dollop of batter onto the heated griddle, where it immediately began to sizzle and spread out.

Rukino-san set down the plastic bag she was holding behind the cart and came over to watch. "Haruto, you know how to make crepes?"

Haruto grimaced. "Not... quite. But I can make pancakes. How hard could it be to make a crepe?" _'Shoko probably knows how to make crepes. I'll have to get her to teach me sometime.'_

"Hmm," said Rukino-san.

Bubbles were starting to form around the edges of the sizzling batter.

_'Let's see. If it was a pancake, it would be time to flip. But this is not a pancake. So I have to spread it out. Spatula.'_

Haruto scraped away the top of the crepe with a spatula, pushing the raw batter to the sides. Immediately he could see that he had done something wrong. The batter on the bottom of the crepe was already cooked, so by the time the newly formed edges were done, the bottom of the middle would be blackened.

"Hmm," said Rukino-san again.

_'Okay, the edges aren't raw enough to flip, but I need to flip or else the bottom will burn. So if I cut out the middle bit...'_

Haruto used his spatula to cut around the cooked central part of the crepe. He lifted it clear of the outer ring and flipped it over. The thusly revealed underside looked... well, rather like a pancake.

"That's a donut." Rukino-san pointed out.

"Donuts are round."

"That's round."

"Round like... a disk. With depth. This is flat." Haruto resolved to look up what a flattened cylinder thing was called.

"Donuts have a hole in em."

"Lots of things have holes in em."

"Mmph." Rukino-san said.

Having silenced Rukino-san with his impeccable logic, Haruto turned his attention back to the crepes.

_'That middle bit looks about done. So... let's get it out.'_

Haruto dribbled some strawberry-flavored syrup onto the middle section of the crepe, then slid his spatula under it and moved it to a waiting platter.

_'And now the outside part needs flipping.'_

This operation went a little less successfully. As Haruto lifted the ring of half-cooked dough onto his spatula, it tore under its own weight and slid back onto the griddle in a tangled mess.

"You broke it." Rukino-san said.

"It's lots of little crepes." Haruto started slicing the ring apart into more managable chunks with the edge of his spatula.

"I like big crepes."

"Well, these little ones are for me." Haruto scooped the bits of cooked dough onto the platter.

"Suit yourself."

The griddle cleared, Haruto dipped his ladle back into the bowl of batter, when Rukino-san extended a slender hand towards him.

"I want a turn."

"Eh? You can make crepes, Rukino-san?"

"Better than you."

Shrugging, Haruto handed over bowl and ladle, and prepared to see himself get shown up by Rukino-san yet again.

As it turned out shortly thereafter, Rukino-san was no better than him at making crepes.

Haruto peered at the twisted... thing on the griddle. "Is that a lemon?"

Rukino-san waved her hand at him impatiently. "It's a bat. It's abstract, okay?"

As the batter in the mixing bowl got lower and lower, a tower of cooked dough pieces rose up in the platter. But not one of them could rightfully be called a crepe. They were strange asymmetrical shapes, many with torn edges. Some approximated a circle, while others were clumped tangles of dough that couldn't even lie flat.

And of course, none of them was close to thin enough for a crepe.

Haruto was transferring his latest failure from griddle to platter when Rukino-san started to laugh. He had to admit she made an enchanting sight, her beautiful face shining with mirth. A smudge of white batter on one round cheek gave her an innocent, childlike look, as if she were a little girl helping out in the kitchen.

"Oh... look at us, Haruto..." She giggled. "We can pilot giant robots and hold our own against the best and bravest of the Dorssian military... and we can't figure out how to make a crepe?"

Her laughter was infectious, and Haruto had to laugh as well. "I guess being a crepe chef is where the real men go. We should tell L-Elf to quit his day job." He showed the empty bowl of batter to Rukino-san. "I guess we're done here?"

Still laughing, the two teens settled on a nearby bench to eat their misshapen creations.

* * *

"Ugh... no more..." Saki groaned as she slid another forkful of crepe between her lips.

Beside her, Haruto let out a belch. "I'm done for..."

Saki eyed the platter between them. The heaping tower of crepes was down to a mere three. Problem was, her stomach was full as it would go. "Yeah... I think I'm done. For real now."

Haruto put his fork down on his plate with great finality. "Same here." He thumped his chest to get his last mouthful down the pipes. It seemed to have worked for Shoko during their eating contest.

Saki was eyeing the crepe platter again. "You know." She said slowly. "We shouldn't waste food these days. Once what's in the module is gone, we can't get any more until the Moon."

Haruto sighed. "Okay, so let's bag em and eat em later."

"No no," Saki shook her head. "You have to eat street crepes hot off the griddle. If you don't they won't be crisp anymore and it'll be a terrible waste!"

"They weren't crisp to begin with! Look, they're basically a pancake..."

"If they came from a crepe cart, they're a crepe! Anyways, you eat them, Haruto!"

"Whaaaat?" Haruto objected. "Why me?"

"An idol has to watch her figure." Saki tossed her head haughtily.

"But you already ate like ten, Rukino-san!. Come on, a few more won't hurt."

"Ten is where this idol draws the line."

"I don't follow your reasoning."

Saki flopped back on the bench, dramatically pointing up towards the dome of the module with one hand. "GO FORTH, YOUNG HARUTO!" She cried in a booming voice. "THIS SHALL BE TRAINING FOR YOUR NEXT EATING CONTEST! OR WILL YOU LET YOUR HAM N' EGG BREAKFAST BE SLICED IN TWAIN?"

"That doesn't even make- Fine, fine, I'll eat em." Haruto reluctantly picked up his fork again. He conjured up the mental image of Shoko, broom in hand. _'Tell me I have no drive, will you?'_ He rolled up two of the crepes into a ball of dough, jabbed it with his fork, and jammed it into his mouth.

Saki found herself smiling fondly as she watched Haruto eat. His face was bright red and bits of crepe sprayed out between his teeth as he chewed vigoriously. In no way could he be considered handsome at the moment, or even cute. In fact his eating was downright gross. But somehow she couldn't look away.

_'Ah, what the heck, right?'_

She slid the last crepe from the platter onto her plate.

Haruto swallowed his mouthful and seemed surprised to see her slowly eating the last crepe. "I thought I was supposed to eat those."

"I changed my mind."

"Mmm-hmm."

Saki finished off the crepe, then stretched languidly. The "daylight" of the module had mostly dried her soggy clothes, and now that her belly had gone from empty to overly full, she wanted nothing more than to lie down. "Haruto, I wanna lie down. Gimmie your shoulder, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she scootched up next to him and laid her head on his shoulder.

She felt his body tense underneath her, and then relax. Gradually, gradually, his breathing slowed, and his body slumped.

_'So he's nodded off. Good, he needs the rest.'_

Saki closed her eyes, but couldn't go to sleep. After a few moments, she sat up and looked at the dozing Haruto.

Even sleep, it seemed, couldn't ease Haruto's cares. His brow was furrowed ever so slightly, and he looked so young and fragile that it made her heart ache. To think that the safety of an entire country of people rested on his shoulders. Seeing him like this, she never would have guessed he was her upperclassman.

There was so much she wanted to tell him. How he wasn't the monster that he seemed to think he was. No one short of a genuine saint could have reacted so unselfishly to her joyriding in his body for her own personal gains. That he was himself, Haruto. separate from the things that the curse made him do.

That she felt the same pain he did. The same loneliness.

That together they could both be whole.

But whenever she tried to open her mouth and tried to put those feelings into words, they just caught in her throat.

The really ironic thing was that she HAD spoken those words before. Hundreds of thousands of people had heard her say them, but those words had not been meant for them. And now to the one person whom she wanted the most desperately to tell them to, she remain tongue-tied.

_'That's so pathetic, I could just laugh.'_

But there was a solution, wasn't there? If she couldn't say those words, she could just let herself say them.

_'But will he understand?'_

Even if he didn't, at least she had to try.

She'd let him sleep a little more first, though.

* * *

"Say, Haruto..."

"Wha?" Haruto blinked awake. At some point he must have dozed off. "How long was I asleep?"

Rukino-san checked her phone. "It's 15:22."

The sight of Rukino-san looking down at her phone couldn't have woken Haruto up any faster than if he'd had cold water thrown in his face. Somehow while having fun with her, he'd completely forgotten why he'd asked her to meet him in the first place. He shot to his feet, causing Rukino-san to flinch back with a choked gasp.

"Rukino-san! I want to-" Haruto was cut off suddenly by Rukino-san's index finger, pressed lightly against his lips.

_'Her finger is so soft...'_

"This will be the last one. So please..." Rukino-san whispered.

Her purple eyes brimmed with determination and some emotion he couldn't identify.

What could he do but nod?

"Thank you, Haruto."

Rukino-san led him to a movie theater. Traditional end to a date, he supposed. After stuffing themselves on pancakes, neither of them was in much of a mood for snacks, so Haruto sat down in a seat while she went up to fiddle around in the projection booth.

After a while, the screen came to life and started showing a line-up of studio logos. Rukino-san came down the aisle and plopped into the seat next to him. "Good thing I could plug my cell into the projector system. I had to pirate this off the internet."

"Rukino-san, that's illegal!"

"Hmph! If anyone is entitled to watching this movie for free, it should be me!"

"But you can't just-"

"Shhhh! It's starting!"

The screen was showing the intro credits now. A girl in a blue sailor uniform was putting together a box lunch to light instrumental music. The camera work focused on the girl's delicate hands as they deftly chopped up vegetables, tossed them in a pan with rice, and finally packed the cooked food into a plastic box.

And then the camera panned to show the girl's face. Haruto couldn't help but do a double take.

_'Rukino-san?'_

A younger Rukino-san beamed happily at him from the screen. He snuck a surreptitious glance at the Rukino-san sitting beside him. She was watching the screen, a wistful look on her face.

_'She wants to reminisce about the old days?'_

He couldn't blame her. The Rukino-san on the screen... what, she must have been thirteen or so? She looked so cheery as she went about her business. He remembered once again her blank gaze from the night before, after what he'd done.

_'I was the one who took that away from her,'_ he thought remorsefully.

Taking a cue from Rukino-san, he watched in silence.

* * *

By the three-quarters point, Haruto was thinking he didn't like this movie very much.

_'If Rukino-san wants to watch this, then I should watch it with her. But I swear if we do this again, I'm not letting her pick the movie.'_

No matter how he sliced it, Rukino-san's movie wasn't very good. For one thing, it was a romantic drama. Hardly the kind of thing he was interested in. Then too, the plot was too cliche for his taste. It was your standard girl meets boy, girl pines for boy, girl gets boy kind of affair.

And while it took him a while to get to it, Haruto had to admit something.

The young Rukino-san simply wasn't a very good actress. While she certainly was very cute and photogenic with her big eyes, round cheeks, and gleaming smile, there was something just a little off about how she delivered her lines. It was clear that she was just reciting from a script.

Not that he'd ever tell her that, of course.

She'd gotten alot better since whenever she made this movie though. Judging from the lies she'd told him about her family, she'd grown leaps and bounds as an actress. Or at least, Haruto thought, if those had been lies. It was hard to tell if Rukino-san had been lying when she'd claimed to be lying, or if she had been telling the truth.

_'Agh, why does she have to be so complicated? Why can't she be more direct, like Shoko?'_

First she was spurning him. And then she was kissing him. And then she was crying in front of him. And then she was hijacking his body.

After he'd attacked her, when she'd had every right to be angry at him, to hate him and resent him, she instead treated him with warmth and genuinely seemed to want to spend time with him. Why? What did she want from him?

_'Oh, it looks like the confession scene is coming up.'_

On the screen, the younger Rukino-san was standing in a grove of cherry trees, their petals wafting across the shot by the dozen. Haruto liked cherry blossoms as much as the next JIORan, but this was just a little gratuituous, wasn't it?

"I've always been alone."

"Huh?" It took Haruto a moment to process that it was the Rukino-san sitting by his side that spoke those words.

"Family? Friends? No one chose me."

Her words came detachedly, almost tonelessly. As if she were talking about someone else.

"But you HAVE been chosen. You're a popular idol! You even starred in movies!"

Rukino-san didn't seem to hear him. Her lovely face was still and blank as she stared at the screen. "I wanted to be chosen. By just one person. If my loneliness became our loneliness, that would've been enough for me."

"Rukino-san, do you mean..." Haruto was at a loss. What should he say?

"I've always been alone."

_'Huh?'_

With a feeling of deja vu, Haruto swung back to look at the movie screen. There, the younger Rukino-san was making her confession.

"Family? Friends? No one chose me."

Gone was the stilted and wooden line reading from before. Her voice had been completely transformed; the delicate tones were full of sadness. Loneliness. Longing.

"I wanted to be chosen. By just one person."

The on-screen Rukino-san was speaking from her soul. It was as if her voice was filled to brimming with all of the emotion that should have been in the voice of the Rukino-san in the theater. Haruto looked back at the girl in the seat beside him. Her face was turned toward him, and in her violet gaze was a pain and yearning so deep it cut into his heart.

"If my loneliness became OUR loneliness, that would've been enough for me."

Abruptly, Rukino-san broke eye contact with him. Laughing, she swept to her feet. "I'm amazing, huh? I did this movie two years ago, but I still remember my lines! I was quite the talented actress, If I dare say so myself!" She suddenly spun away from him, hiding her face behind her hair.

"You're wrong!" Haruto flung himself to his feet. Rukino-san's back flinched, and she turned back to face him.

"Rukino-san, you're not alone anymore." Haruto's prepared speech flashed through his head. He considered his words, the carefully selected phrases he'd thought of through the night-and then threw them out.

He understood now what she wanted from him. It had always been so simple. He was a fool to have not understood.

* * *

"You're wrong!"

Saki shuddered at the raw emotion in Haruto's words. For a brief moment, she thought about dissembling again. Of making a joke about how she WAS a good actress, and how dare he imply otherwise. But as she turned to deliver the quip, the look on his face froze her words in her throat.

Haruto's face was fixed stonily, his eyebrows furrowed, his mouth taut. He had the same look from when he was confronting Renbokoji before the Valvraves. His stubborn look.

So here it was then, the apology. It could be delayed no more. She struggled to frame a response for the words she knew were coming. Should she accept it, even though what happened wasn't actually his fault? Would that help? Or should she refuse to accept it, and tell him the truth, that she didn't hold him responsible? Which would better grant him the absolution he was looking for?

"Rukino-san, you're not alone anymore." In the theater walkway, Haruto sank to one knee before her.

_'Wait, what?'_

"I choose you. Will you marry me?"

His words quite literally knocked the breath out of her.

Saki's lungs emptied in a wordless exhale as a flurry of emotions she didn't quite understand why she should feel rushed through her. Grief, remorse, guilt. And then on their heels came happiness. A bright simple joy that rushed to her head and left her giddy. For a moment she thought she would swoon.

Between them, unheard, the soundtrack of the movie swelled to a cresendo. Haruto was still staring at her, determination shining in his blue eyes.

"Haruto. I..." Saki heard herself say. "Yes."

They stared at each other for a long moment, each unsure what to say. Saki was the first to unfreeze, and was taking a step towards Haruto when-

BREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! BREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! BREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

_'Oh, not now, NOT NOW!'_

"Goddamn it, you blasted Dorssians!" She screamed in frustration as Haruto jumped to his feet.

"Enemy forces detected! All personnel to battle stations at once!" Kitagawa-san's voice, slightly panicky, boomed out over the PA system.

Saki reached out and grabbed onto Haruto's hand, their fingers interlacing as they began to run for the fire exit in the back of the theater. "Just like those Dorssians. No respect for other peoples' personal time," she grumbled.

"Nope. No respect at all." Haruto agreed.

Chapter 1 End

* * *

**A/N: Must mention: this is a mirror of my fic also posted at FF.net.**

**Thanks to xchrispx at FF.net for beta reading and letting me bounce ideas off him.**

**There's two reasons why I'm doing this fic.**

**First, while a story about a tragic hero who dies in the final battle while he sows the seeds for a great empire and a tragic heroine who carries on upholding their promise to each other centuries later has a great bittersweet taste to it, it can't satisfy my appetite for a happy ending.**

**Second, I want to... let's say, 'fix' a number of elements I regard as problematic in the 2nd season of the show. What I heard, and this is totally unsubstantiated, is that the series originally got slated for 2 seasons, but the writers assumed they would get a 3rd season, and planned their plot around having 36 episodes. But because the series was not all that popular (for whatever reason) they never got their 3rd season and had to cut down alot of what they wanted to do. And that's why there's so much weirdness in season 2.**

**So this fic will be about Haruto and Saki (like it says on the tin), and will also introduce a new plotline in place of season 2, eventually going forward into new territory beyond that. And I am planning on it having a happy ending.**

**But as the beginning of the chapter indicated, this will get DARK. So fair warning. I'm hoping to not cross the line into actual angst, though.**

**One last thing: none of the flashforwards seen in Season 1 are considered as canonical in this fic. Nothing seen in Season 2 past the time skip in episode 1 is necessarily canonical either. For all we know, Marie could just be a normal girl, Lord Satomi can wind up dead, and Papa Tokishima is lying on a beach somewhere sipping a fruity beverage and combing oil into his fabulous mustache.**

**Hope you enjoyed reading and here's to seeing you in the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2 - The Siege of Module 77

"Rukino Saki, Carmilla, Box out!"

The walls of the launch tunnel blurred by, and then Carmilla was surrounded by stars. She curled back towards the module as soon as she cleared the outer hanger, towards where Inuzuka-senpai and Yamada's Valvraves were pushing against the module's hull, blue and yellow hard light trails spewing outwards.

"You two're late!" Yamada growled out over the comm.

"It's okay, the audience knows you're just my warm-up act." Saki joked as Carmilla settled against the hull, Haruto in his VVV I touching down a moment behind her.

"Maintain course 741." L-Elf commanded.

Saki punched up her rearview display on her console. There were an awful lot of Dorssians this time. Maybe a dozen cruisers hung between them and the Moon, along with attendant swarms of Waffe and the bug-like Ideals, slowly growing larger as they neared. By far the largest Dorssian force they'd seen since leaving JIOR Sphere One.

_'But it doesn't matter today!'_

The joy she'd felt back in the theater hadn't left. It had muted a little while she did her preflight checks, damped down by the minutia and routine. But now with the surge of pre-battle adrenaline, it had grown, a pure transcendal note filling her heart.

_'You can have all the numbers in the world, and it won't help you!'_

"Here they come!" Haruto's VVV I peeled off from the wall and flew towards the Dorssians.

Saki followed suit, and space around her lit up with energy weapon discharges and mass driver bolts. Yamada bellowed as Nobu Lightning took a hit, but Carmilla whirled and spun through the Dorssian fire effortlessly.

_'Because today, Rukino Saki is invincible!'_

Her Spindle Knuckle flashed out and smashed through two Waffe slave units. The piloted third unit tried to back off, and got pulverized by the Knuckle as it came looping back.

She was deep in the enemy line now, enemy fire snarling all around her. A spray of guided missiles flew at her, but she kicked away from them, angling towards the Ideal that shot them, then dodging past at the last moment. She had to laugh as the Ideal was plastered behind her by its own missiles, reeling off course with one of its wings shattered and venting vapors.

"You're too slow for this dance!"

Carmilla spun around, launching her Spindle Knuckle. The spinning blade sliced into the wounded Ideal's belly, and the thing went up in a purple flash that consumed another flock of Waffe in pursuit of her.

Then there were more. She cut through more Waffes, and was soaring towards another Ideal when it erupted into a fireball before her. Inuzuka-senpai's blue VVV V flashed by, green blazing from its arm cannons. Dorssian ships spun around her, and she carved a path through them, exuberance singing in her veins. Carmilla seemed to hear the noteless song of joy as well; her Valvrave had never felt so quick, so responsive, so that the Dorssian ships swarming around her almost seemed to be standing still.

It was her greatest performance to date... and as always she was recording her cockpit feed. But unlike her previous fights, she wasn't intending to stream the recording over Wired later.

The next fight, perhaps. But this one...

_'Haruto... This dance is for you.'_

* * *

Haruto felt helpless as he never had been before in an operational Valvrave. The Moon was RIGHT THERE, a pale bloated face beaming towards them.

Except, they were only separated from the Moon by the biggest Dorssian fleet he'd seen. In terms of sheer numbers, even the Valvraves would be overwhelmed eventually, and every time he swung VVV I around he caught a glimpse of Waffe units strafing the module, thick as flies. Explosions flashed on its surface periodically, and Haruto felt sick knowing that every time he saw a detonation, someone he knew might have been killed.

He smashed through a Waffe formation with his sickle and buckler, released an ejecta of hard light from his thrusters to block a volley of shots from a cruiser's deck guns behind him, and returned fire with his rifle, stitching a line of explosions across the cruiser's bow. The Dorssian ship shuddered and its guns fell silent. Before he could target the bridge atop the superstructure to finish it off, an incoming Ideal claw arm forced him to abandon his position. He spun around and took an unaimed shot at the Ideal, but it just boosted easily out of his line of fire. He vented his frustration over the comm.

"L-Elf! There's just too many of them! We can't handle this!"

"Everything is going as planned," L-Elf sounded cool and calm as ever. Haruto blinked as a popup came up on his console, showing that the Dorssian fleet had split in two. A few of the enemy ships were still clustered in their original position near the border of the Moon's neutral zone, but the remainder was chasing the retreating module, stretching into a relatively thin line. "In order to pursue Module 77, the enemy had to break formation," L-Elf explained.

Haruto saw the implication immediately. As they were, the Dorssians were in the perfect position for the Harakiri blade. All they had to do was hold out until then. "Understood!"

_'No need to hold back on overheating then!'_

He opened up his throttle all the way, filling space with a web of hard red luminescence. Enemy ships swarmed towards him, their pilots drawn by the light show, and he blasted his way through them, sending their shattered wreckages spinning away. The thermal gauge on his console climbed quickly, until it finally hit the 100 mark, and VVV I shuddered to a halt.

"Harakiri blade charging!"

* * *

"Dammit, they're all going for Haruto!" Inuzuka-senpai yelled.

Saki banked Carmilla away sharply from the Ideal she had her sights on. VVV V was already supporting the immobile VVV I, its shields turned towards a cruiser bearing down on them, shrugging off energy blasts and mass driver bolts alike. "HEY! Over here!"

"Rukino-san, look out behind you!"

Saki shaved a shield panel from a Waffe that came just a little too close. She'd seen that one coming from a mile off. "Haruto? Shouldn't you be concentrating on the Harakiri Blade?"

"Oh yea, I'll just stare at the numbers going up and mumble 'hurry up hurry up' to myself..."

"You've got a point." Saki couldn't help from smiling.

She arced around VVV I's immobile body, launching Spindle Knuckles at Dorssian ships that edged too close in their strafing runs. Saki gritted her teeth in annoyance. Carmilla wasn't the best at defense; her superior mobility was squandered having to stay near a fixed point, and there really wasn't much she could do against enemy projectiles other than try to intercept them with hard light trails. She managed to get most of them, focusing on the more damaging missiles and energy beams, but a few mass driver pellets were still getting through and buffeting poor Haruto. Inuzuka-senpai was locked down by the heavier fire of the cruiser, and where was Yamada...?

A quick scan of the starfield showed Saki that Nobu Lightning was bobbing around deeper in the Dorssian line, engulfed in a furball of Dorssian fighters.

_'No help from the idiot, then... What to do?'_

"Rukino-san! Inuzuka-senpai! Do a switch!" Haruto yelled.

"Like a tag team!" Saki blurted happily. It wasn't every day she got to put that bit of vocabulary to use!

"Gotcha!" Inuzuka-senpai curled VVV V towards her, latching onto VVV I and manuvering to bring its shields up against the flak swarming Haruto. "The big one's all yours!"

Saki was left facing down with the cruiser. Blue and yellow streaks of weapons fire continued to flash towards Haruto's position behind her. That would never do.

"Keep your eyes on me!" She yelled, gunning her multi-leg spine and streaking past the belly of the Dorssian cruiser. As she passed, she lashed out with both Spindle Knuckles, carving a pair of deep grooves along the length of the ship, and as she flew out behind it, chains of secondary explosions blossomed along the cut portions. The cruiser's guns paused for a moment, and then opened up on her.

"Nothing like a little personal interaction to get the audience's attention!" Saki laughed-and then squealed as Carmilla shuddered under a hit.

 _'Keep your head on straight, girl!'_ She'd nearly bitten her tongue.

* * *

Chamca surveyed the troops ready for deployment in the personnel bay of his custom Ideal. Twenty-four soldiers. Three technicians. Two sappers. Sixteen men for each of the two armored shuttles onboard, counting himself, A-drei, and H-Neun. Room to take six prisoners. Ideally he wanted two scientists, two nascent students, and two actualized pilots... but he'd take whatever he could get his hands on. The drill was mounted and ready to go. Perfect.

He tapped his earpiece. "Kriem. Give me an update."

His adjunct's voice came over the feed. "The red Valvrave has stopped moving as you predicted. It has been inactive for 34 seconds at... mark."

96 seconds left in its charging and firing sequence. It wouldn't hurt to go over it again. He'd hand-picked the men before him for ability and loyalty, but Karlstein graduates they were not. It would be inconveniant to have those imitations on the module playing possession games with his boarding party, if they were capable of such a thing.

"Stay in your two-man groups once we board the module. Immediately report all physical contact with the enemy crew. If you see any lone friendlies, use the callsign. If they do not give the appropiate countersign they are to be treated as hostile. ESPECIALLY if they appear to be injured."

If the men wondered at his unconventional orders, they gave no sign.

"BLITZENDEGEN!" He saluted them.

"BLITZENDEGEN!" His men yelled back, saluting him as one.

81 seconds left. He began to squeeze through the cramped corridor towards the front of the Ideal, putting on his helmet as he went. He passed A-drei and H-neun in their alcoves, entered the cockpit and settled into his chair, glad he'd had the forethought to have the standard-sized pilot seat replaced with a larger model. Chamca preferred larger, physically imposing hosts as a general rule, but he had to admit size had its drawbacks at times. He checked the pre-flight sequence for the drill. The liquid pressure in tank 4 was a bit low, but within tolerances.

36 seconds left. He opened a communications link to the bridge. "Kriem, you have command of the _Obersturm_. Begin Operation Vogelfanger."

"Yes, Colonel Cain." Over the comm, Kriemhild raised her voice as she relayed his orders to the bridge crew. "Begin Operation Vogelfanger! Ideal squadrons, Piedra del Sol squadrons, standby for launch!"

18 seconds left. Chamca took a deep breath of the slightly ozone-scented air inside his helmet, savoring his host body's rush of adrenaline. In his mind's eye, he pictured the Valvrave starting up its ridiculous main firing sequence. Oh, those JIORans...

It sure was good to be back in the field.

* * *

Carmilla whirled away from the Dorssian cruiser, her Spindle Knuckles coming to rest on her shoulders. Saki looked down at her console, which showed her comfortably far from overheating, at 42/100.

The cruiser, on the other hand, wasn't doing so well. It was covered in gouges and alight with superheated plasma flames. The upper deck of its double wings was sheared off, and it was listing badly as it vented plumes of atmosphere.

She just didn't have anything heavy enough to take it down properly. Sometimes she envied VVV I its heavy equipment... although it wasn't anywhere near as stylish as Carmilla.

_'Ah, sorry, Carmilla! I shouldn't think that way. You're all the robot a girl needs!'_

"Harakiri Blade done charging! Look out!"

Then again, maybe she didn't need to take down the cruiser.

Saki slammed on her controls and Carmilla kicked away from the cruiser. Behind her came VVV V, a fleeing blue figure with golden beetle wings. The enemy units were converging around VVV I, hammering at it uselessly; the weapons fire melting away before the light pouring from the Valvrave. An especially ambitious Waffe landed on VVV I's chest, and then took off a moment later, its surfaces that had been in contact with VVV I slagged with heat.

An Ideal fired its claw at her as she passed. She smashed the claw apart and kept going.

The light shining from behind her intensified as the Harakiri Blade went off. She switched to her rearview display for a quick peek. The cruiser she'd been dancing with split in two, the cut edges burning away as white-hot vapor into space for a moment before the two halves merged back together in one enormous explosion.

The ships of the Dorssian fleet puffed into bursts of light as VVV I's shining finger swept across them. Saki found herself cheering. Yamada's voice came over the comm, distorted with static. "You bastard! Watch where you're swinging that thing!"

"I said to look out!" Haruto said. "Not my fault you didn't dodge!"

"I DID dodge! You think you can catch the great THUNDER with an attack like that?"

Saki smiled, tuning out their chatter and allowing her body to relax. It was weird how the post-battle glow of victory felt so very much like the glow of satisfaction from finishing up a good show.

_'Ah, how nostalg-'_

Shrieks of fear rang out over the comm. Startled, she spasmed involuntarily in her seat, her hands clawing roughly at the controls. Carmilla jerked sporadically as her groping fingers hit random keys, one of her leg thrusters firing and sending her into a nauseating spin. The voices on the comm were speaking words, but she couldn't understand them, just a random babble of sound.

_'WHAT, WHAT'S HAPPENING, WHAT?'_

She wrestled Carmilla out of her spin, quashed down on the panic that fluttered in her chest. Her heart was thudding roughly in terror, completely different from the excited pumping of just a few moments ago. She shot a quick look back at the module. A cloud of debris was mushrooming from the main hanger at the bottom of the module, bits of metal glittering as they spun into the sunlight. Suddenly the confused shouts coming over the comm made sense, weren't just white noise.

"It's an Ideal!"

"They're in the hanger bay!"

"Boarders! The enemy's boarded us!"

At the same time, a pair of Ideals roared towards them from below, already vomiting swarms of Waffe slave units. Beneath them further was another Dorssian cruiser.

Saki steeled herself for battle again. The combat high from earlier had vanished abruptly in the spurt of panic, leaving behind a vague nausea in her belly and a weird involuntary shiver that ran along her arms in fleeting feather-light strokes. But before she could steer Carmilla towards the new enemies, Haruto spoke over the comm, his voice steely.

"Rukino-san! Take me back to the module!"

Although Haruto's words rang with tension, hearing his voice calmed her nerves somehow. "Got it!"

Carmilla grabbed onto the unmoving VVV I and started hauling it back towards the module. Explosions blossomed behind her as Nobu Lightning and VVV V engaged the Ideals. As her nerves settled, something suddenly occured to her. She opened a private channel to VVV I.

"Haruto, what are you going to do once you get to the module?"

"...I'll go on board, get in touch with L-Elf and have him use me to fight those boarders. It's not like Unit One is any use right now."

"What about the emergency cooling system Sensei was telling us about earlier? Can't we use that?"

"No good. We'd have to get to the hanger controls to use it, and Command said the Dorssians are in the hanger bay."

They were nearly at the module now. Saki changed Carmilla's trajectory slightly so they were headed for a point along its equator. "I'll have to bring you to one of the airlocks on the sides then. Otherwise I'd just be delivering you to the Dorssians."

"Right."

They were there. Carmilla pushed VVV I lightly against one of the support struts on the outside of the module, hooking its arm around the strut carefully.

_'There, that should keep you from drifting off...'_

In the camera feed on her console, Haruto was undoing his seat harness. Saki reached behind her shoulder to do the same. "I'm coming with you."

_'No way I'm letting you go in there alone.'_

"No. You'd be more useful piloting Carmilla and keeping any more boarders from landing, Rukino-san."

That stung. She knew he was right, but somehow it felt like rejection. It wasn't the time or the place for it, but she couldn't stop herself from answering back.

"Fine. I'll stay! But what's with that, anyway? 'Rukino-san, Rukino-san?'"

"Huh?"

"You keep calling me 'Rukino-san!' Aren't we supposed to be engaged?"

"Oh... Right... Uh, Saki... chan?"

"SAKI."

"Saki."

She blew out a breath.

_'A little better.'_

Haruto was climbing out of his cockpit and jetting to the airlock entrance. Saki gave him a thumbs-up sign he couldn't see. "Haruto, stay safe."

He paused in the entryway and smiled at her over his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm an indestructible superhuman."

The airlock door closed and he was gone.

* * *

Mikhail ran down the corridors of Module 77, heading for the junction on deck 11 he'd designated as a rally point. Once he reached it he would take command of the defense forces gathering there and use them to repel the boarding party. The boarders had not been entirely unexpected, although he had been hoping to avoid such a situation. The defense force he'd organized from the students was poorly drilled, untrained and unblooded, and while they outnumbered the troops a single Ideal could bring to bear, they were sure to take massive casualties in direct confrontation with trained and experienced soldiers.

_'Morale will be a problem. Should use hit and run tactics, avoiding unnecessary casualties and take advantage of the terrain.'_

He ran through the list of possibilities in his head.

_'This is no regular Navy force. The most likely commander is A-Drei, for his knowledge of the module's layout. Second likely is X-Eins, for his tactical ability.'_

_'If A-Drei, he will not be as sentimental having failed in his last attempt to take the module. His plan will most likely be to use the drill to bypass all security measures, and take control of the module surface. He will not know that the students no longer use the school as a command center, and thus his control of the surface will be largely meaningless, except to allow him use of guerilla tactics. If he attempts to harden the campus buildings against infantry attack, the Valvraves can be brought into the dome to attack his positions from the air.'_

_'The immediate solution is to launch simultaneous hit-and-run attacks on A-Drei's position as he advances behind the drill from multiple decks. Turn it into a killing ground.'_

_'If X-Eins, he-'_

"L-Elf! The drill is spreading some kind of poison gas!" Renbokoji screamed over his earpiece.

"Poison gas? Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

Mikhail felt a thrill of fear as the implication of the brazen action sank in.

"So much for the New Guinea Agreement, huh? You always did use any means to your end, Cain."

"Huh?" Renbokoji continued to babble over the line. "What do we do about the gas? The gas?"

"I'll handle it." Mikhail said. "Stand by for further instructions."

"Ah, un-understood."

Cain Dressel was here. That changed it all. For a moment, Mikhail felt like a child again, afraid and unsure of his actions. Could he win against the man who taught him everything he knew?

He swept the feelings of uncertainty aside, buried it under the emotional control that was part of his training. Yes. He would win. He had to. What else had he been doing for the past seven years if not practicing for this moment?

_'I knew this day would come. Time to meet it headlong.'_

But how to beat Cain?

Renbokoji's panic aside, what TO do about the gas? The contaminated areas belowdeck would be sealed off automatically by the module's environmental controls as soon as the gas was detected. All passages leading into the interior of the module from the surface were fitted with redundant airlocks, in case of a massive breach of the dome. The non-combatant students would have all evacuated from the surface to their designated shelters by now, and even the person he had come to think of as the 'Watcher' couldn't be crazy enough to stay, whatever psychological problems she had.

_'With recycling, the air belowdecks should be sufficient to last until we can secure a resupply on the moon. Cain must know this as well. Therefore I can conclude that the drill is meant as a diversion, to focus the attention of the defenders while Cain accomplishes his real purpose.'_

And that real purpose would be...

_'Up to this point, the enemy objective has been to obtain the Valvrave. There is no reason to believe this objective has been changed. There are four perfectly good Valvraves outside, yet Cain planned an operation to attack the module directly. Is his target Unit Six?'_

He tapped his earpiece to activate his link to the bridge. "Renbokoji Satomi."

"Ah! L-Elf! Yes! I mean, no! Renbokoji-senpai isn't here!" It was a female student, one he could not immediately identify.

Where had Renbokoji gone? No matter. "Use the module's internal transport grid to move Valvrave Unit Six out of dry dock, to... Grid 1C, Deck Two."

 _'Let's see you find that, Cain.'_ Deck 2 was far enough away from the hanger than a systematic search would take a long time to discover VVV VI. Yet Grid 1C was near enough to the drill's path that it should be flooded with gas as the drill passed. Even with sealed spacesuits, there would be an innate psychological aversion to send troops into those areas, and thus they would likely be searched last.

"O-okay! Moving Valvrave Unit Six!"

"Well done," he encouraged the female student. It was important to maintain civilian morale at times like this. "Stand by for further instructions."

"T-thank you, L-Elf, sir!"

That done, he turned his mind back to Cain.

 _'How to remove Cain from the module?'_ That was the tricky part.

Mikhail decided he would not take the student defense force into combat against Cain. Cain simply had too many advantages on that front. A realistic examination of their abilities showed that Cain should be superior to himself in battlefield command, having far greater experience, and possibly greater planning ability. That coupled with his superior troops meant that any armed encounter should be avoided.

_'It comes to a battle of information in the end. How much does Cain know? What doesn't he know? What irregularities are there that he can not possibly account for, which I can exploit?'_

The biggest glaring irregularity, the same one that had downed him, of course. The body-snatching Valvrave pilots.

Even if A-Drei reported that he'd shot the pilot of VVV I repeatedly without killing him. Even if Cain didn't dismiss his report as a result of battlefield confusion, or that he'd simply missed Tokishima's vitals. Even if Cain worked out somehow that the pilots were immortal freaks. There was still no possible way he could conclude from that information that the pilots could ALSO possess people that they bit. It was absurd, after all.

But that card simply wasn't on the table. He was in the module. The four pilots were all outside. Would it be possible to send a student to VVV VI now, to make a new pilot? He started to go through his list of candidates in his head, simultaneously reaching for his earpiece so he could have VVV VI moved to a location near the students-

His cell phone rang. Tokishima Haruto.

He answered it, taking in Tokishima's terse explanation. Luck was on his side, it seemed. An incredibly stupid move on Tokishima's part, to abandon his Valvrave and return to the station, but a fool's luck was better than nothing at all. He needed everything he could get if he was to challenge Cain.

"Tokishima Haruto. I will meet you at Grid 3G, Deck 62. We're going to retake the hanger bay."

* * *

"Goddamn you cowardly Dorssian dogs! Come on, FIGHT ME!" Yamada yelled over the comm.

The Dorssians were up to something, and Saki didn't like it. The two Ideals had come on strong at the beginning, but now they were backing off whenever the Valvraves approached them, preferring to sent their slave Waffe units out instead. She sliced another one of the unmanned fighters apart with a Spindle Knuckle, and boosted towards the Ideal that had launched it. Predicably, the Ideal matched her manuvers and launched another pair of Waffe her way.

"Rukino-san, Thunder, let's see what happens if we all go after one of them." Inuzuka-senpai said. "There's something weird going on."

"You think they're up to somethin'?" Yamada seemed to have finally caught on.

"Roger!" Saki nodded. "I'll pick off the Waffe, you guys go ahead and-"

"Poison gas!" Renbokoji's panicky voice came over the comm. "Valvraves, the drill is pumping some kind of poison gas into the module! You guys need to get back here and stop it!"

"Poison gas?!" Yamada was outraged. "That's low, even for assholes like you!"

"If we don't do something, everyone's gonna die!" Saki yelled. "We have to stop that drill at all costs! Let's head for the hanger!"

"I'll cover you, Rukino-san! Yamada, you get the rear!" Inuzuka-senpai ordered.

"Roger!" Carmilla turned and flew towards the module.

"Got it!" Yamada fired his cannons at the cloud of Waffe chasing them.

As Carmilla drew near the module, Saki could see a pair of glowing lights hovering near the hanger entrance. She punched up a zoomed in view on her console. The lights turned out to be a pair of Ideals, backlit by blazing orbs of light carried in ramshackle scaffolds mounted to their rears.

_'New toys for the Dorssians, is it?'_

Saki slowed Carmilla down to have a look. The last time she'd gone charging in against a new Dorssian innovation she'd been locked down by those boomerang strips and turned into nothing more than a burden on Haruto.

_'Nuh-uh. Not letting that happen again.'_

Yamada, not having the benefit of hindsight, charged ahead of her and the naturally cautious Inuzuka-senpai, letting out a loud battle cry as he did so.

"Dammit, Yamada, don't break formation!" Inuzuka-senpai yelled in frustration.

"IT'S THUNDER!" Yamada's Nobu Lightning blazed ahead in a streak of yellow. Within moments the multi-armed Valvrave was still, crushed and overheated between two Waffes as Yamada's outraged cries rang out over the comm.

"Irons?! Is that how it works?"

_'Waffle Irons?'_

More of the slave Waffes with the glowing brands on their shields launched from the two modified Ideals, forming a wall between Valvraves and module. And behind them, the two Ideals approached with their own slave Waffe swarms.

* * *

Haruto listened carefully as L-Elf explained the plan to him.

"Once you get control of an enemy body, take it behind enemy lines. Possess the highest ranking officer you can find, and try to issue orders to cause confusion. Your ultimate target should be Colonel Cain Dressel, the man in charge of the operation. He's very tall, has blond hair, and wears an eyepatch. If you can take control of him, you can order the enemy to recall the drill."

_'Saki would probably be better at this with her acting ability... But I'll do what I can.'_

L-Elf continued. "Once your infiltration begins I'll stage a diversionary attack to try and give you some openings. Be sure to take advantage of any opportunities you see. The lives of everyone on the module is in your hands, Tokishima Haruto."

"Got it!" Haruto nodded.

L-Elf nodded back, and then took off down the corridor. Haruto followed, trying to keep up.

They turned two corners, descended a flight of stairs, and then two Dorssian soldiers were right there, wearing blue and white spacesuits, their helmets removed. Haruto ducked behind one of the airlock doors along the corridor and watched L-Elf work.

The soldier on the left died right away, his throat exploding in a splatter of gore as L-Elf's bullet tore through it. The other soldier lifted his rifle and squeezed off a few shots, but none connected with the blur that was L-Elf. L-Elf was on him immediately after, knocking his feet out from under him with a leg sweep. The soldier lashed out desperately with his arm as he fell, but L-Elf sidestepped the blow and precisely chopped the soldier across the neck with the side of his palm. The soldier crashed to the ground, coughing and clutching at his throat with one hand, his other hand still holding his rifle-until L-Elf kicked the gun out of his grasp.

Taking the cue, Haruto rushed forward. L-Elf moved smoothly out of his way, and he flung himself on the stunned Dorssian soldier, who was pushing himself up on his arms. Even dazed, the soldier was much stronger than him, and Haruto scrabbled awkwardly at the man's head and upper body, trying to get his teeth to the neck.

The soldier buckled and nearly won free, so Haruto smashed him across the mouth in desperation with the armored forearm of his flight suit. The Dorssian jerked, his head sagging for a moment, long enough for Haruto to bury his face in the man's neck and sink his fangs into his flesh.

* * *

And then Haruto was the Dorssian soldier, struggling to breathe through his bruised throat, his blood coppery on his tongue from his cut lips. His own former body slid bonelessly off him as he pushed himself up on one arm, looking up at L-Elf standing over him.

"Tokishima Haruto. Are you in control?" L-Elf extended a hand down to him.

"Yeah." He croaked. His voice was broken and hoarse. He tried again.

"Yeah." Better this time. He took L-Elf's hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet.

L-Elf studied him for a moment, then took him by the shoulder. "Hold still, Tokishima Haruto." With a soft snikt, L-Elf's knife was in his hand, and he made a slash through the material of Haruto's spacesuit, cutting a furrow in his flesh.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Haruto jerked his arm out of L-Elf's hands.

"The more visible wounds you have, the less suspicious they'll be of you." L-Elf said. The blood was running from the stinging cut, staining the material of the flight suit. Haruto could feel it running down over his arm, warm and slippery. "Try to make it seem like you don't have full use of that arm."

"Got it." Haruto let his 'injured' arm dangle.

"Head toward the hanger." L-Elf picked up the dead soldier's rifle and began to check it. "You should run into more of their perimeter guards before you get there. I'll follow at a distance. Once you're behind their lines I'll start my diversion."

Haruto nodded, picked up the other rifle, and set off for the hanger at a light run. His breath caught harshly in his bruised throat, but he ignored it as best he could. After a few dozen meters down the corridor, he looked back, but L-Elf was nowhere to be found.

_'I guess it wouldn't work if I could see him following me.'_

He rounded another corner and there were another two soldiers. Both brought up their rifles at the sight of him, and then relaxed when they saw his uniform, although they kept their guns trained on him. He ran up to them, noting that their faces were set in a strange mixture of caution and... expectation?

_'What would a soldier say in this situation?'_

Haruto tried to imitate what he thought a soldier's field report, pleased with how the rasp of his bruised throat hid the uncertainty in his voice. "I made contact with the enemy at Grid 2D, Deck 63! There were a dozen hostiles that I cou-"

The two soldiers exchanged a brief glance at each other, and then looked back at him. One of them held up a hand to cut him off. "Wait."

_'Oh, shit.'_

The soldier that spoke fixed him with a determined gaze. "Niere."

They weren't buying it. Haruto thought briefly about raising the gun in his 'uninjured' hand and attacking them. But he was certain that if he made any hostile moves, they would immediately shoot him. What to do?

"Niere!" The soldier said again, and Haruto could see the man's face harden as he came to some decision.

_'Gotta trust L-Elf. He's never failed before. Gotta do my part. Gotta stick to the plan.'_

Haruto slowly bent down under the soldier's hard gaze, making sure to make no sudden moves. He put his rifle on the floor, then slowly straightened and raised his hand in salute. "Blitzendegen!"

The soldier shot him.

The bullet hit him in the abdomen, doubled him over, and threw him onto the floor. He instinctively clapped his hand over the blazing pain in his belly. Above him, one of the Dorssians was shouting into a handheld communicator, and the other-the one who shot him-was levelling his gun at Haruto's face.

Shots rang out, and Haruto flinched, sure that he was dead. But it was the soldier holding the gun pointed at him who fell, and the other soldier, still yelling into his communicator, collapsed a moment later. Feeling strangely calm, Haruto levered his upper body upright with his elbows, taking a look down the corridor from the direction he had come.

L-Elf charged down the corridor, stooping near him and dragging him against the wall. He checked Haruto's pulse, then took Haruto's hands, which had slipped off his abdominal wound without Haruto noticing somehow, and placed them back over the bleeding hole in Haruto's belly.

"Stay prone and press down tightly." L-Elf instructed. "This body is badly injured and going into shock. Wait for me here, I'll be right back."

Haruto watched L-Elf quickly run off again, back in the direction he'd come from. His limbs were growing cold and he felt strangely distant.

 _'Press down... right.'_ He pressed down on his wound as L-Elf had ordered. It was strangely difficult to do so, even though his wound didn't hurt nearly as much as it used to. Instead of pain now, mostly he felt cold.

_'That's odd. Are the module's environmental controls malfunctioning again? That's no good, Rukino-san and Takahi-senpai will be fighting again. I should do something about it.'_

It was too much effort to get up, though. When his hands slid off his stomach again he just let them flop to his sides. Time passed, and Haruto grew colder. At some point, he looked up to see L-Elf standing in front of him again, with his original body slung over his back. He had a moment of confusion. If he was Tokishima Haruto, who was the person L-Elf was carrying?

L-Elf laid Haruto's... original body down next to Haruto and spoke, his voice urgent. "Tokishima Haruto, your host body is bleeding to death. It seems your regenerative abilities don't work outside of your own body. You need to bite your body and get back into it." He took Haruto's original body's hand and brought it to Haruto's mouth.

Haruto looked at L-Elf in confusion. His vision was curdling and darkening around the edges and it took all his effort to focus on L-Elf's voice. His mouth was dry and he licked his lips. "Bite myself... why...?" It seemed so silly. All he wanted to do was sleep.

L-Elf blew out a breath and hesitated a moment before speaking again. "Sashinami Shoko asked you to do it."

_'Shoko, huh...'_

Well, if it was Shoko. It still seemed silly to Haruto, but he'd humor her. He loved her, after all.

Haruto opened his mouth obediantly, and L-Elf stuffed the hand he was holding into Haruto's mouth. He bit down, softly at first, and then harder, feeling the skin break under his teeth.

* * *

Haruto sucked in a breath, his eyes snapping open.

Beside him lay the body of the Dorssian soldier he'd just been in, panting shallowly, skin pale, his lower torso soaked in blood. A sudden jolt of adrenaline shot through him and he leapt to his feet away from the soldier, yelping.

"Waaaugh!"

"Get a grip, Tokishima Haruto! They got a message off; we need to retreat!" L-Elf said urgently.

Haruto gulped down air. For some reason, nearly dying in the body of the Dorssian soldier had rattled him more than the times he'd been killed in his own body. The first time he'd been killed, it had gone so quickly he hadn't really understood what was happening, and the next few times he'd been secure in the knowledge of his own immortality. But now, watching the Dorssian gasp out his last breaths at his feet, he-

"Tokishima Haruto!" L-Elf hissed.

_'Get it together, Haruto!'_

Haruto nodded. "Right, let's go!"

Before they could move, they were interrupted by the sound of running footsteps from the direction of the hanger, echoing down the corridor. L-Elf took off running the opposite way, Haruto following. But they hadn't gone a dozen feet when another knot of Dorssian soldiers rounded a corner in front of them. They were trapped.

There was a sharp crack of gunfire. At Haruto's side, L-Elf's pistol leapt out of his hand to clatter to the floor behind them. Haruto gaped at the Dorssian soldier that had made the shot, a huge eyepatched man in an ornate dress uniform who towered over the rest of the soldiers. The man held up his left hand to signal the soldiers behind him to stop, and then beckoned towards L-Elf, a thin smile playing across his lips.

_'That's him, that's gotta be the Colonel L-Elf was talking about!'_

L-Elf charged forward, a silver-haired blur. He and the Dorssian Colonel exchanged a flurry of blows, too quickly for Haruto to make sense of. L-Elf aimed a kick towards the Colonel's midsection, but the Colonel knocked L-Elf's foot aside, smashed his fist into L-Elf's face, and then grabbed the nape of his neck and slammed L-Elf into the wall face first. L-Elf dropped like a sack of bricks, the Colonel aiming a kick at his prone form.

Haruto rushed the Colonel. If he could just bite the guy while he was preoccupied with L-Elf...

The Colonel turned faster than Haruto thought possible, sweeping an arm towards him. Haruto bit down desperately, but all he got was a mouthful of floppy sleeve. The Colonel's leg lashed out against his, and then he was flying, spinning through the air, crashing down in a heap on his back with enough force to drive all the air out of his lungs.

The Colonel's foot crashed down on his solar plexus, and a gush of stinging bile filled Haruto's mouth. He doubled up, coughing and hacking. When he managed to look up again, the big Dorssian was pointing a pistol down at him.

"Let's see what Iteration you are," the Colonel said, his single blue eye jovial as he stared down.

-BAM BAM BAM!-

Haruto jerked in agony as the the three tightly-grouped rounds crashed into his chest, smashing through his sternum and obliterating his heart. He was vaguely aware of his limbs thrashing spasmodically as the darkness took him.

* * *

Saki was the only one left.

Inuzuka-senpai had gone down a few seconds ago, crushed between two of the Waffe Irons. Both the Ideals and their remaining Waffe payload were focused on her now, and she had her hands full dodging away from the Waffe Irons' persistant passes. Most of the Waffe Irons were deployed in staggered rows between her and the module. The only caveat was that as long as she stayed well back, they let her mostly alone, with only the foremost Waffe Irons trying to ram into her.

_'If it comes down to attrition, I can keep Carmilla's heat down and pick off Waffe Irons from the edges of the formation. Those Ideals'll run out eventually... but what about the poison gas?'_

And how was Haruto doing on the module? Her requests to Command for information netted no answers; all she had been told again and again was that L-Elf was 'handling' the drill. And that from Takahi-san. Renbokoji-senpai, it seemed, wasn't even on the bridge anymore.

_'Attrition's not an option. I need to get back to the module!'_

As Saki eyed the shifting mass of Waffes on her tactical display, she saw a thin path opening up. Nothing much, just a few Waffes off to one side slightly out of position. It wasn't an opening that any other Valvrave could have exploited... But Carmilla wasn't just any Valvrave.

"Here we go, Carmilla!"

The moment she saw the path, she slammed down on her thrusters. All six legs of Carmilla's Multi-Leg Spine opened up at full throttle, sending her soaring through space. She passed the first few Waffe Irons, the white unmanned fighters trying desperately to match her manuvers but failing. She kicked away from one Waffe approaching her, spun past another, slipped past a third with mere meters to spare. The module loomed ahead, growing steadily larger-

-And Saki screamed as Carmilla jolted suddenly. She slammed forward in her seat, her flight suit crushing painfully against her chest as the restraints connected to her upper back ate her inertia. All her forward momentum was gone; she was being pulled back, away from the module. It took her a moment to realize that Carmilla was in the clutches of an Ideal's claw and being reeled in towards the bug-shaped vessel. This close up to it she could see the blue flames painted across its hull.

_'Did he plan this?'_

Saki kicked herself mentally. She hadn't been looking for the Ideals, just the Waffe Irons, and in retrospect the 'path' she thought she'd found was meant to funnel her towards the Ideal that had her in its grip.

A moment later she was jolted again, and a rending crash of metal on metal nearly deafened her as Carmilla was smashed between two Waffe Irons, overheat alarms shrieking into the cockpit. The thermal gauge on her control panel shot up, 36, 37, 38...

The thrust on the pair of Waffe Irons crushing against Carmilla was uneven, and Carmilla tumbled through space. As she spun, she could see the blue flame Ideal moving off, her defeat clearly already a forgone conclusion in the pilot's mind.

_'I'm not done yet, you bastard...'_

As Carmilla spun back to point at the module, Saki hit her thrusters again. The Waffes' feeble engines were no match for Carmilla's power, and she shot towards the module again on a stream of emerald green, still sandwiched between the Waffes. Saki wrestled with the controls, struggling to keep Carmilla flying straight, the squeal of metal rubbing on metal ripping through her helmet as the Waffes on her jostled to keep their position. Her thermal gauge climbed rapidly, 65, 66, 67...

The Waffe Irons remaining between her and the module flew towards her on intercept courses, but now that she was caught she had nothing to lose. One of them struck Carmilla at an angle and bounced away, sending her flying off at an angle to the right. She cursed and pressed down with all her might on her left foot, managing to correct her course but losing precious seconds. 78, 79, 80...

She won clear of the Waffe squadrons, the octogonal hanger opening yawning open before her. Bits of microdebris clanged against Carmilla's hull as she flew through the debris cloud, and then she just barely crashed through the opening, the Waffe on Carmilla's back scraping off against the top lip of the hanger's mouth. Her thermal gauge slowed, but continued to climb. 94... 95... 96...

_'Haruto, I'm coming!'_

Carmilla scraped briefly against the top of the launch tunnel before Saki could get her under control again. She looked back instinctively for a moment, seeing the dislodged Waffe vanish in a puff of purple fire behind her, and then looked back to the front, expecting to see the inside of the hanger bay at the end of the tunnel.

But what greeted her was a wall of dark gray metal-belatedly she realized that with the outer hanger door breached, the module would automatically close one of the backup doors spaced along the launch tunnel in order to keep atmospheric integrity inside the hanger-and Carmilla was about to crash into it.

Saki yanked desperately on her joystick. Carmilla brought up her left hand, ready to launch her Spindle Knuckle at the airlock door-just as her thermal gauge hit 100. With a electronic groan, Carmilla went still.

Saki threw up her arms reflexively as Carmilla smashed into the barrier, left shoulder first. She had an impression of enormous pressure, a rending shriek of tearing metal-

-and everything went black.

* * *

When Haruto came to, he was already restrained.

Hands cuffed behind his back. Ankles linked together by a short plastic twist. A length of cloth in his mouth and tied around his head made a simple but effective gag.

Two of the Dorssians had been dragging him by the heels down the corridor, but when he woke and started to move, they'd stood him on his feet and forced him along in small stumbling steps, the best his restrained ankles could allow. Up ahead walked L-Elf, spared the indignity of the gag and ankle restraints; he only had handcuffs. However, L-Elf's nose was swollen and purple and blood slowly trickled down his lower face.

It got easier when they reached the hanger and its zero-g environment. The Dorssians simply turned him and L-Elf around and dragged them by their handcuff chains. Haruto had plenty of time to look around as they flew across the hanger.

_'What a mess...'_

The hanger was filled with bits of debris from when the Dorssians had broken through the hanger door; rubble ranging from several-meters-long lengths of twisted metal to gravel-sized pebbles floated all around them. Here and there along the rubble were the still corpses of students: volunteers from the engineering crew under Kibukawa-sensei.

Haruto swallowed down bile. As far as he knew, the engineering crew hadn't been armed. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised; there was the poison gas, after all. But the naked display of Dorssian brutality still shook him.

It was slow going in the hanger. Haruto's captors had to pause to deal with debris, pushing away smaller pieces and detouring around larger chunks. By turning his head as far as it would go, he could see that they were making for a pair of boxy shuttles hanging in the middle of the hanger. Behind the shuttles squatted the Ideal that had brought the boarders, an ungainly pink and white insect with a fat abdomen.

_'Dammit, am I just helpless like this? There's gotta be something I can do!'_

He looked over at L-Elf, being dragged along in the same way as him. L-Elf's eyes were closed in the meditative state Haruto had often seen him in previously. The inexperienced observer might have thought he was taking a nap, although the effect was somewhat ruined this time by the sound of L-Elf's loud breathing through his open mouth as his breath wheezed through his broken nose.

_'L-Elf is coming up with a plan... everything will be alright...'_

But, that hadn't worked out very well for them just now, had it?

L-Elf had been so solidly dependable in the past. So capable. His predictions so flawless that it seemed like some kind of magic. Haruto still remembered vividly the chill that had gone down his spine when he'd look down to see the hand mike he was holding, back when he was playing at being ARUS' mouthpiece. But the disaster that had befallen them now meant that as capable as L-Elf was, he was NOT infallible.

No, that wasn't right. Haruto grimaced. It was easy to blame L-Elf. But the fault really lay with him, didn't it? He flashed back to the conversation with the Dorssian soldiers. Why had he said 'Blitzendegen?' It was obvious that they were looking for some kind of callsign. If only he'd been faster at thinking on his feet, he might have figured it out. And afterwards, when he'd gone up against the Dorssian Colonel. Here he was, cursed immortal, and his opponent just a man. All he needed to do was put one little nip into the guy to win the fight, and he'd botched it up.

Something had to change. He had to change. He realized suddenly that he was now the most negligent of the Valvrave pilots. Rukino-san practiced in Carmilla every day. Inuzuka-senpai and Yamada-san both attended L-Elf's volunteer boot camp, and Yamada-san trained at some kind of martial arts besides. What had he been doing, in comparision? Doing miscellaneous jobs around the module and attending Nanami-sensei's first aid classes? Sure, he'd had some resolutions, but they were half-baked ideas made on the spur of the moment. Save L-Elf's 'licht' girl? Rescue Shoko's dad? How would he even start with those? At least he'd taken responsibility for what he did to Rukino-san properly.

Everyone else had adjusted to their new circumstances, but he was still in denial, still pretending that nothing had changed, that he still had some kind of high school life. But as the softly tumbling corpses of students around him attested, that life was long over.

_'If I get through this, I'll need to get to work. I'm just holding everyone else back!'_

They had reached the shuttle. Haruto's captors hauled him upright, pushing him against the shuttle's rust-red hull. An aperture on the shuttle's side opened, and he briefly had a glimpse of Kibukawa-sensei and Otamaya-kun inside being watched by an armed soldier, as the Dorssians started to push L-Elf inside.

He was looking at L-Elf and past him, to the closed backup hanger door, when it happened.

The grey backup hanger door erupted inwards in a spray of sparks and twisted metal, sending debris spraying towards them. A pair of Dorssians stationed near the hanger door were hit with chunks of rubble before they could react and flung away from the point of impact. The soldier holding Haruto twisted away in surprise, leaving him momentarily free. He pushed away from the shuttle hull awkwardly with his elbow, briefly noting that L-Elf had taken advantage of the situation similarly; he had somehow gotten out of his handcuffs, incapacitated the soldier on him, and was wrestling with the armed soldier in the shuttle for his rifle.

There was a brief whoosh of wind as the atmosphere in the hanger started to vent out of the ruptured hanger door, and then that abated as yet another airlock closed further up the launch tunnel. Now that the initial cloud of debris had dissipated a little, Haruto could see an enormous green figure, sticking halfway out of the shattered hanger door.

_'RUKINO-SAN!'_

He expected the green Valvrave to start moving, to attack the Dorssians in the hanger. But it just lay inert. Looking closer, he could see the edges of the cooling fin on its chest glowing red-hot, and the air around it wavered with heat waves. Its left arm was gone below the elbow and the Spindle Knuckle on that side was nowhere to be seen.

_'Overheated?'_

Something closed around his ankles, and Haruto looked back to see a Dorssian soldier holding onto his legs. The soldier yanked, and he went reeling back towards the shuttle again.

* * *

Saki sucked in a sharp breath as consciousness returned.

Did she die? Or was she just knocked unconscious? She couldn't tell.

She was hanging awkwardly from her seat harness. The strap on the left shoulder of her flight suit that connected her to her seat had snapped. She hit the release on her right shoulder and detached from the harness, floating slightly off her seat, and looked around.

Carmilla had smashed through the airlock door and was currently lying in the hole she had made. Non-operational, of course. The thermal gauge on her console was ticking slowly down from 96. She wouldn't be going anywhere until the system reset at 0 heat. Ahead of her she could see the Dorssians, tiny blue and white figures swarming around two shuttles, and an unattended Ideal.

_'Oh, crap.'_

Five of the tiny figures were floating towards Carmilla. Saki looked around the cockpit in near panic, trying to figure out what to do.

_'Stay in Carmilla? No good. There's no telling if they'd break in before I could get moving again.'_

Her roving gaze found the tumbling body of a Dorssian soldier near Carmilla, killed either in the initial attack or Carmilla's breakthrough, she didn't know-and more importantly, the black bulk of the rifle, strapped to his spacesuit by combat webbing.

_'Make a fight of it?'_

She wasn't relishing the option. The last time she'd gone up against a Dorssian soldier... well, L-Elf, she'd woken up tied hand and foot with a piece of tape over her mouth. But the alternative was to let them dig her out of Carmilla like a frightened rabbit, and she couldn't have that.

_'It'll go better this time. It's gotta. I'll have a gun, so...!'_

No time to overthink it. Saki sucked in a breath, hit the open hatch control on her panel, and kicked up and through the opening. She looked around wildly, found the Dorssian corpse she had sighted earlier, and flew towards it using the compressed air jets on her flight suit.

Saki reached the body with time to spare, and ripped the soldier's rifle free of its webbing. Swinging around, she sighted on the approaching Dorssians, who had begun to spread out.

_'Safety, safety! Should have gone to L-Elf's class...'_

She fumbled with the slide that she hoped was the safety, pointed the rifle at the closest of the Dorssians with unsteady hands, and squeezed the trigger.

Unexpected recoil made the rifle leap in her hands, and all her shots at the soldiers missed.

The Dorssians' return fire didn't.

* * *

Haruto watched, sick to his stomach, as the tiny green figure that was Rukino-san shuddered and spasmed under the hail of bullets. The stolen rifle flew out of her hands and went spinning away.

"RUKINO-SAN!"

"RUKI!" Otamaya-kun screamed at the same time from behind him.

Sure, the bullets couldn't KILL her, but being shot HURT, as he knew from personal experience, and he didn't want any of his friends to suffer.

That was it then. The hope that Rukino-san would save them had been snuffed out. In the still-open shuttle, L-Elf had managed to overpower the Dorssian soldier. But the first soldier he'd downed had recovered and was holding Otamaya-kun hostage, pistol pointed to his head. The soldier and L-Elf now stood in an uneasy standoff.

Haruto himself was still in the clutches of another Dorssian, outside the shuttle, but the standoff inside couldn't possibly last. There was already another group of Dorssians heading over from the other shuttle, and the Dorssians who had downed Rukino-san were closing in around her still-twitching body.

_'There's gotta be something I can do! Dammit, what?'_

Nothing. He racked his brains for a solution. Nothing.

Just as Haruto was about to succumb to despair, he became aware of a whining drone from above, growing steadily louder.

He craned his head up to look, and was shocked to see the drill coming back down towards them.

For a moment, he thought it was part of the Dorssians' plans, but that couldn't be, because suddenly the soldiers around him were scattering, yelling muffledly behind their helmets in panic. L-Elf took advantage of the distraction, leaping forward and knocking away the gun held to Otamaya-kun's head. A moment later Kibukawa-sensei bulled into the soldier from the side and sent him spinning.

Alongside the drill came a purple Valvrave, bedecked with glowing green loops of light like a strange festive robe and holding an odd staff-like weapon. Two Waffes launched from the Ideal to engage it, and the purple Valvrave struck them with its staff. Moments later the Waffes seemed to go insane, ramming into each other and firing on each other with their mass drivers until they exploded into flames. The purple Valvrave continued its descent, unimpeded.

_'Unit Six? Who's piloting it?'_

VVV VI swooped down into the hanger bay proper, ignoring the small arms fire from several overambitious Dorssian soldiers. it extended one hand, and scythe-like claws unfurled from the tops of its fingers.

"Get out of the way!" L-Elf decked the soldier hovering over Haruto as he was staring up in shock at VVV VI. He turned Haruto around, grabbed him by the waist, and pressed the control for his air jets on his back, sending them flying in Carmilla's direction.

Behind him, Haruto watched as Kibukawa-sensei and Otamaya-kun spilled out of the shuttle, launching themselves on a course towards the top of the hanger. A moment later the clawed hand of VVV VI came down on the shuttle, ripping it apart like a wet paper bag. At the same time the drill crashed down into the Ideal, crushing it down into the hanger floor. The squeal of tortured metal nearly deafened Haruto, and then the Ideal exploded, taking the drill with it in an enormous purple fireball.

They had reached Rukino-san by then; she was still sucking down shuddering breaths as her body healed from its injuries. L-Elf reached out and snagged her by an arm as they passed, and they reached Carmilla a few moments later. L-Elf quickly hit the hatch release button and pushed Rukino-san in.

"Hold still." L-Elf said, and a pistol appeared in his hand. Haruto briefly had time to wonder where in the hell the weapon had come from before L-Elf was shooting out the chains on his handcuff and ankle cuffs. As soon as Haruto had his hands free, he reached up to rip the gag out of his mouth.

"Thanks." Haruto said, swallowing hard to moisten his dry throat. The cloth gag had been absorbing his saliva while it was in his mouth.

"Come on," L-Elf grabbed onto the lip of the opening and levered himself into the cockpit. "Get into Unit Four."

"S-she's Carmilla." Rukino-san groaned as Haruto and L-Elf piled into the cockpit. She was sprawled in the pilot's chair, still gasping for breath and rubbing at her eye through a hole in her helmet.

 _'She looks like she's hurt bad,'_ Haruto thought, kicking off the top of the cockpit and moving to Rukino-san's side. Her flight suit was covered with bloody holes, and the faceplate of her helmet was shattered on the upper right side. Underneath, her hair and half her face were wet with blood. He winced in sympathy, his chest where he'd been shot recently seeming to ache. "Are you okay?"

"Yea. I think so. Indestructible s-superhuman, right?" Rukino-san gave him a pained smile. "You don't look so hot yourself. Wha, what'd you get hit by, a cannon?" She reached one hand out to his chest.

Haruto put his hand over the gaping hole in the chest of his flightsuit. "Some guy shot me a bunch of times. Not as many as you though."

"Trust me, it's not... something I want to make a competition out of." Rukino-san said dryly. "Anyway, about Carmilla..." She swept a hand towards the display panel.

Carmilla's thermal gauge was counting down slowly from 68. As Haruto watched, the number changed to 67.

"We're stuck here until it goes back down to 0. Talk about a flawed design, huh? Ah. Sorry, Carmilla." Rukino-san patted the side of her seat soothingly. "Look where we are, too."

Haruto floated next to Rukino-san's seat and looked around. They were in the first lock of the launch bay, and the walls were fitted with panels covered in small holes. "The emergency cooling system!"

"Talk about ironic, right?" Rukino-san was sitting up straighter in her seat now. "If only we could turn it on..."

"We'd have to turn it on from Hanger Control." Haruto nodded. "I'll go."

"Alright, be ca-"

The purple and green figure of VVV VI suddenly loomed up before them. It put its hands over Carmilla's head and shoulders, and rather roughly shoved them back through the busted airlock door.

"What in the-"

"What are they-"

VVV VI pushed Carmilla into a sitting position against two of the chamber's walls, and then tapped the wall with its staff. A glowing green spot appeared at the point of contact, and then green lines raced outwards from it, creating a crisscrossing pattern over the wall.

_'Is that hard light? What is it doing?'_

A moment passed, and then jets of supercooled liquid squirted from the holes in the walls, bathing Carmilla and VVV VI. As the liquid touched Carmilla, it evaporated into wreaths of vapor. Haruto watched as the thermal gauge rapidly dropped down to 0, and the display for Carmilla turned green-well, except for the missing parts of its left arm that stayed red.

"Alright!" Rukino-san said happily. "Carmilla's back in action!"

Haruto was confused. "How did they know to do that?"

Rukino-san shrugged. "Could be a member of the engineering crew." She checked her panel. "More like... comm was on. We've been broadcasting the whole time." She tapped the panel. "Hello? Carmilla to Unit Six, thank you! Uhm, who are you?"

There was no response. Not even a gesture from the purple Valvrave to show that the pilot inside heard the message. Instead, VVV VI floated over to the airlock, which hissed open to allow it passage. Without a backward glance, VVV VI disappeared through the door.

_'Not the talkative type, are they?'_

"How rude!" Rukino-san huffed, turning Carmilla to follow VVV VI.

"Wait a moment." L-Elf spoke up. "Our objective right now should be the elimination of Cain Dressel."

"Who?" Rukino-san wondered.

"That Colonel guy we ran into?" Haruto found himself reaching for the hole in his flight suit again.

"The man who planned and executed this operation," L-Elf told Rukino-san. "He's too dangerous to be allowed to escape."

"Alright. Where do we go?" Rukino-san asked.

L-Elf took up a position beside the pilot seat. "He should be back in the hanger, directing evacuation."

"Understood." Rukino-san pressed her feet down on her pedals, and with a faint whirr, Carmilla shouldered back through the shattered hanger door.

* * *

The scene that greeted Saki back in the hanger was chaos. The Dorssian forces were in disarray, scurrying around their one remaining shuttle, coming under fire from a group of armed students pouring into the hanger from the module above.

_'The student defense force!'_

The Dorssians didn't seem to be going anywhere. The smashed together and burning remnants of the Ideal and drill took up most of the space in the hanger and blocked their shuttle from the door. At the head of the student defense force was Kibukawa-sensei, his white lab coat flapping as he directed their advance.

"Not bad for a physics teacher," Haruto said from beside her, his tone mildly suspicious. Saki found herself agreeing. There was definitely something more to Kibukawa-sensei than he let on.

Where would this Dorssian leader be? Saki thought of checking the shuttle, but from the disorganized way the Dorssians were acting, that didn't seem likely. Was he on the Ideal when it blew up? Maybe he was already dead.

"There!" L-Elf jabbed a finger towards the viewscreen. "Kill him!"

Saki zoomed in on where L-Elf was pointing. A tiny figure in a dress uniform was floating near the wall of the hanger, far away from the fighting.

_'He's not doing anything... Just... looking at the wall.'_

She toggled her right joystick, bringing Carmilla's right arm up, intending to smash the Dorssian with her remaining Spindle Knuckle. It was overkill, but...

"But... he's defenseless!" Haruto protested.

"He's too dangerous!" L-Elf insisted.

Saki looked over at the two. L-Elf's face was set, resolute. Haruto's eyes were wide in horror at the prospect of outright killing an unarmed man, but even as she watched his eyebrows began to slide downwards, his mouth hardening as he worked towards acceptance.

_**Haruto's face was young and fragile in sleep, his head leaned back against the headrest of the bench. His brow was slightly furrowed, as if even now he couldn't let go of the worries that plagued him.** _

_'Even though he's not the one pulling the trigger, this will weigh on him. He can't help it. That's just how he is. Isn't that right, Haruto?'_

While Saki herself didn't have that much of a problem outright killing the unarmed Dorssian, she found she couldn't justify adding any more burdens to Haruto. She eased her finger off the trigger button.

"I'll take him alive. If I grab him with Carmilla, that'll be enough, right?"

L-Elf looked annoyed, but nodded. "Alright."

She shot a glance at Haruto. His face was relaxed in relief, his features softened. Good.

Saki turned her attention back to the floating Dorssian. She nudged Carmilla towards him, but the going was slow; she had to circle around the burning wreckage. Carmilla was only halfway across the hanger when something strange happened.

The cockpit filled with an odd sound. It reminded Saki a bit of the time when she visited the ocean back on earth as a little girl, like the bellow of waves crashing against naked rock. But this sound was organic, alive. The cadence rose and fell, and she had the distinct impression that it was speaking words, but words in a language no human could possibly pronounce.

"What is that...?" Haruto wondered.

"Dunno." Saki tapped the side of her helmet. It didn't seem to be coming from her helmet speakers. The cockpit speakers, maybe? "Not sure where it's coming from."

"Look!" Haruto pointed towards the viewscreen. Saki followed his finger, and her mouth dropped open when she saw what he was pointing at.

Across the hanger, the Dorssian was glowing.

Not with a glow like the sun or a light fixture, no. This light was a bright vivid green, and it blazed out of the Dorssian in a wave, forming a semi-translucent sphere around him. It looked almost like...

_'That's the same hard light that Carmilla uses!'_

Abruptly, the Dorssian took off from his floating position. The glowing green orb that contained him accelerated, zipping up into the shaft left by the drill, to a sealed hatchway one deck above the hanger, and smashed through it, leaving a perfectly round hole.

"What the hell?" Saki piloted Carmilla towards the the hole, cursing the bits of wreckage that got in her way. "Did you see that? What the hell was that?"

"That, that light!" Haruto stammered, apparently on the same page as her. "That's the same light as the Valvraves!"

Carmilla was at the closed hatchway. This close, Saki could see that the hole in the door hadn't been punched through as she'd thought at first. The edges were slagged and melted, as if the tiny ball of light had burned its way through. She slammed Carmilla's right fist into the hatchway door and it buckled. She hit it again, forcing the door edges away from each other, and then pushed Carmilla's hand through the gap, using the stump of Carmilla's left arm for leverage against the other door to force the two halves apart.

Beyond the hatchway lay a long chamber, lined on either side with huge transparent tubular containers. Within bubbled some kind of orange liquid, and in the liquid was suspended-

_'MORE VALVRAVES?'_

Unfinished Valvraves, Saki realized. The units in the tubes varied in completion, ranging from ones with missing limbs to ones that were just a head and collection of spare parts connected with wiring.

_'Why are they floating in those jars like that? Are they being GROWN somehow? Aren't they just robots? What in the hell is this room?'_

"More curses..." Haruto mumbled from beside her.

She was getting distracted! Belatedly, Saki wrenched her gaze from the partial Valvraves in their tanks, looking for the green orb of light she'd been chasing. There, at the far end of the chamber-

-The ball of light smashed into a tank set against the far wall, melting a hole in the transparent material of the tank. A wall of orange liquid rushed forth, quickly dissolving into globules and droplets in the zero-g chamber. Saki gunned Carmilla forward, but it was too late. The glowing figure of the Dorssian reached the Valvrave within, and slipped into the cockpit through its open hatch.

"I win, Cain." L-Elf said smugly from her side. "That unit isn't operational."

 _'Oh, YOU win, do you?'_ Saki thought sardonically at L-Elf, taking a closer look at the Valvrave "Cain" had gotten into. Not only was it inoperational, it was incomplete as well; nobody had bothered to install limbs on the thing. It was actually almost cute. The stumpy limb stubs made it look a little like a baby bird...

Unexpectedly, the crest atop of the head of the limbless Valvrave blazed to life, and the thing crashed out of its tube, floating in the air before them.

 _'Oh crap._ ' Saki leaned forward in her chair and took a tighter grip on her joysticks. It shouldn't have been possible. L-Elf had said only Sakimori students could pilot the Valvraves. But then again, the Dorssian turning into a ball of light and flying around the module shouldn't been possible either. She stared hard at the limbless Valvrave, trying to figure out what offensive capabilities it may have. Her display lit up with threat recognition warnings, identifying the unit as VVV II.

_'At least it's got no arms and legs, right? I've still got nine more-'_

Hard green light blazed from the stumps of VVV II, swirling around it violently in rushing torrents before settling and hardening into green crystalline limbs.

"OH, YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" Saki yelled in exasperation.

"It grew limbs?" Haruto breathed from beside her.

"L-Elf! What now?"

No response from the Dorssian defector. She glanced over at him. He was holding his head and mumbling to himself, looking even more rattled than the last time all three of them had been in a cockpit together, when he'd been accused of being a traitor by his allies.

_'No help from L-Elf. Guess it's just me and Haruto.'_

And that was an idea that suited her just fine. With Haruto at her side, she could do anything.

She squared off against VVV II. Having grown its limbs, it was just standing there at its end of the room, looking at them.

"Waiting for me to lead, huh? That's as it should be!"

Saki pressed the trigger on her right joystick, sending Carmilla's remaining Spindle Knuckle flying at VVV II's face. The hijacked Valvrave brought one of its green arms up to block, the spinning knuckle biting into the crystalline limb with a loud squealing sound that set Saki's teeth on edge. She pressed her joystick forward, pressing her attack and forcing VVV II back several meters. With a sharp crunch, VVV II straightened its arm, sending the Spindle Knuckle spinning away to the side-but its arm shattered under the pressure, leaving behind a jagged stump.

"Not exactly a chart-topper, are you?" Saki whipped the Spindle Knuckle around, trying to slash it sideways into her opponent, but VVV II dodged away, and the Spindle Knuckle flew across the room wildly before reeling back onto Carmilla's arm.

She prepared herself for a counterattack, but there was still no real offensive reaction from VVV II. It just hovered there, staring blithely at her.

_'What is he, trying to figure out the controls?'_

It made sense. She'd known instinctively how to pilot Carmilla, as if the knowledge had been injected into her along with that shot that made her into a Kamitsuki. If this Cain didn't get the injection, then...

"I won't give you time to learn the steps!" Saki slashed her Spindle Knuckle at VVV II again. The enemy unit brought up its other arm to block this time, resulting in another shattered stump. Saki grinned as she pulled her Knuckle back in, preparing for a finishing strike.

She sent her Spindle Knuckle hurtling directly towards her opponent's face, her fingers poised to make any adjustments in case the armless Valvrave tried to dodge out of the way. No such movement was forthcoming though; the mech just hovered there as if made of stone.

Just as the Knuckle was about to strike its target, a gush of burning green poured out of the broken stumps of VVV II's arms. Saki had a brief glimpse of jagged crystal teeth lining the surfaces of the new appendages before they slammed shut on the spinning axle of her Spindle Knuckle like a crocodile's jaws. The Knuckle whirled uselessly, its cutting surfaces held bare meters from VVV II's face.

 _'He can do that?'_ Saki pressed her joystick forward, trying to grind her Spindle Knuckle with sheer power into VVV II. The flickering bolt of green lightning connecting Carmilla's arm to the Knuckle glowed brighter, glimmering spangles of emerald flashing through the air. The Spindle Knuckle spun faster in VVV II's embrace, and she was rewarded with the sight of brighter green fracture lines forming in the stolen mech's new arms.

Saki jammed forward on her joystick as far as it would go. The Spindle Knuckle jumped forward, and there was a sudden explosion, purple flames and green waves of hard light bursting outwards. She leaned forward, eager to see the results-

-but what appeared as the explosion settled wasn't what she expected. VVV II had lost both its arms again, but there was no damage to its head or chest. And her Spindle Knuckle was... she picked out shattered shards of black and green, embedded in the walls and floor and floating in the air between them.

"No way..." Saki whispered. Her main weapon was-

"Are you quite finished?" A soft, quietly amused voice spoke over the comm. Saki glanced down at the display and saw that the icon for VVV II was lit up. Audio only.

"DAMN JIORANS!" Another voice spoke up over the comm, quivering with rage. For a moment Saki thought it was the unknown pilot of VVV VI, but no, the VVV II icon was still lit up.

_'He's got two people in there...?'_

VVV II suddenly flew forward towards Carmilla, its crystalline arms reforming as it came. Saki twitched Carmilla to the side, trying to dodge, but the hijacked Valvrave slammed into Carmilla, smashing a jagged fist into Carmilla's face.

Saki shrieked as the cockpit shook around her. Haruto and L-Elf were knocked against the cockpit wall and went sprawling. She swung Carmilla's right fist at VVV II, but VVV II trapped her single arm between its own and twisted, sending Carmilla flying over its shoulder and into one of the tanks lining the chamber walls. Shards of transparent alloy and globs of orange liquid spewed forth as Carmilla smashed through the tank and into the partially built Valvrave inside.

VVV II was coming at her again, not giving her a moment's respite. Saki grabbed onto the partial Valvrave from the tank with Carmilla's right hand, flung it into VVV II's face, and then followed it up with a roundhouse kick, aiming for the stolen mech's midsection.

VVV II ducked the flying Valvrave, bending down and bringing its hands in front of its torso, just in time to catch Carmilla's leg. It twisted, slinging Carmilla around and slamming her facefirst into the chamber's ceiling. Alarms blared in the cockpit and Saki was horrified to see dark jagged lines appear in the front of the cockpit feed as Carmilla's faceplate cracked under the impact.

"Not a bad attempt at distraction." The coolly amused voice of the Dorssian Colonel came over the comm again. "Creativity: Grade C. But overall combat effectiveness: E." The sound of shearing metal rang out as VVV II twisted Carmilla's leg, and the same leg went red on Saki's display console.

In near panic, Saki smashed down on the triggers for Carmilla's Multi-Leg Spine, trying to get away from the situation. Carmilla shuddered, the two center legs of her Spine kicking back against the Valvrave pinning her. A green disk of hard light formed between Carmilla and VVV II for an instant, and then VVV II exploded away from Carmilla, impacting the floor with such force that its lower left leg shattered apart and it was left sunk up to its hip in the metal.

_'I still have a weapon!'_

"Haruto, brace yourself!"

Haruto scrambled to wedge himself into a crook of the seat array as Saki spun Carmilla to face her opponent, and then activated all six thrusters on her Multi-Leg Spine. Cain's Valvrave was just starting to rise out of the crater it had formed when Carmilla smashed into it, rapidly accelerating towards full velocity.

Metal ripped and tore around them as they sheared through the deck, and then they were smashing through into the hanger once again. VVV II's back taking the full force of the impact into the hanger wall. All three of its remaining hard light limbs, less durable than its torso, ripped away as Carmilla shoved it through the hole.

Haruto and Saki were jostled in their positions, and L-Elf went slamming back against the rear of the cockpit. Saki shook off the daze of having her brains scrambled by the impact. Through the debris cloud of broken floor and green shards of disintegrating hard light limbs, she saw that VVV II was prone against the floor of the hanger, lying in yet another crater. As she watched, it shifted, and she hurriedly toggled her Multi-Leg Spine on again, using the thrust to press VVV II back down.

Saki wedged Carmilla's truncated left arm against VVV II's chest, and smashed her right fist into VVV II's head. Once. Twice. She drew back her fist for a third punch, pleased to see dark cracks spiderwebbing across the creased and dented armor plates on the left side of VVV II's face.

With a lurch, VVV II buckled beneath her, green light gushing from its shoulder stumps to form its arms again. This time the limbs were long, thin and distended, the arms of a tree-swinging ape, tipped with oversized club-like hands. It wrapped its overlong arms around Carmilla, reaching for the extra legs on her back.

"No you don't!" Saki screamed, punching VVV II in the face yet again. The stolen Valvrave's left eye went dark as its face deformed further. Part of its headcrest broke off, green hard light sparks leaking from the severed point. VVV II's hands wrapped around Carmilla's outermost sets of rear legs.

Saki brought Carmilla's fist down toward VVV II for a fourth and final blow to its face, but before the green Valvrave's hand could reach its target, a spew of hard light poured from the fold in VVV II's facial plating where its mouth should be, forming a shell of jagged emerald crystals around its head. Carmilla's fist slammed against the hard light armor-but the crystals didn't shatter; they cracked, but held firm.

VVV II's hands wrenched, ripping Carmilla's outermost two rear legs free from her chassis. New alarms blared into the cockpit as Saki cursed, drawing Carmilla's fist back for another punch. Even as she did so, she saw it would be useless: the crystals encrusting VVV II's face were repairing themselves, the jagged cracks in their facets smoothing out with new streaks of green hard light oozing from the mech's 'mouth.' She smashed Carmilla's fist into the stolen Valvrave's face anyway, but the result was the same as last time: the crystals cracked but didn't break. VVV II's hands grabbed onto another pair of Carmilla's legs.

 _'How do I beat him? HOW?'_ Saki fought to keep herself from hammering on her controls in frustration. There had to be some way!

"Overheat him!" Haruto yelled from where he was braced against her seat.

"What? How?" Saki screamed back.

"He's a Valvrave! The same as us! If you rip off his cooling fin, he should overheat!"

"Right!" Saki reached down with Carmilla's hand to grab the unguarded spike jutting from VVV II's chest. "It's time to pay you back for those Waffe Irons!"

"Huh?" Haruto exclaimed in confusion.

No time to explain. Carmilla's fingers dug into VVV II's cooling fin. Metal and ceramic warped with a squeal under her digits, and she tugged backward, using the stump of Carmilla's left arm to brace against VVV II's torso. The fin came away in her hand, a shattered, useless mess, even as VVV II ripped another two legs from her Multi-Leg Spine. She was down to three functional legs in total now: two centermost on the spine and Carmilla's unmangled left leg.

_'That's still more thrust than you've got, I can just hold you here until you overheat-'_

"FUCKING HUMAAAANS!" The enraged bellow over the comm caught Saki completely by surprise. The sheer hatred in the voice made her falter for a moment, even as green flames blazed from VVV II's mouth, dissolving its mask of crystals and splashing squarely against Carmilla's front. The force of the blast overcame the thrust from her remaining legs, melting Carmilla's chest armor and sending her reeling back against the ceiling of the hanger.

Saki barely had time to recover from being slammed forward in her seat before VVV II was on top of Carmilla, stubby hard light legs forming to pin her down against the bulkhead. The stolen Valvrave loomed above her, the position all too familiar-

_**Haruto slammed her to her back on the hard-packed ground, the breath going out of her lungs in a rush. He loomed above her, silhouetted by the moon, the red slashes and his burning red eyes for a moment all she could see-** _

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Saki shrieked, her hands flying away from her controls, leaping to shield her against phantom assailants. The panicked motions didn't translate into any input for Carmilla, however, and the green Valvrave simply lay still.

VVV II brought its oversized fists together and smashed them down onto Carmilla's chest. The slagged chest armor shattered, and the inner cockpit walls actually cracked under the impact, showering Saki, Haruto, and L-Elf with bits of shrapnel, portions of the video feed flaring into static around the damage.

Saki huddled in her seat, struggling to fight off the unwelcome memories rushing through her head, her body refusing to obey her. She watched helplessly through the distorted cockpit feed as VVV II raised its clasped fists again-

_'So this is how it ends...'_

-And then VVV II abruptly sagged, the burning green light in its remaining eye and headcrest going dull, fading, its hard light limbs splintering and falling away. It slowly floated away from the prone Carmilla in the zero-g of the hanger, once more just the lifeless torso of an incomplete Valvrave.

* * *

Chamca stared down at his display board with something approaching dismay. The counter in the corner was rapidly ticking upwards, showing 140/666. It was easy enough to figure out what that meant.

_'Overheated.'_

Prue, not understanding the situation, was oscillating between spitting curses and shrieking incoherently, a ball of blazing light in its crystal container. Its avatar on the display screen burned bright enough to force Chamca to squint his host's single eye. The excess expenditure of energy was wasted, however. All it did was send the the number on the console spiking upwards ever faster.

"Prue."

"WHAT!?"

"We're finished here. It's not very gentlemanly to damage a vessel on its maiden flight."

"...What?"

He couldn't expect Prue, newcomer to Earth that it was, to understand the joke after all. But the confusion served to cut through Prue's wrath a bit.

"We're leaving."

"But-but, I'm! We're so close! What about Pino!?"

"You can tell for yourself it's not here. We'll get it back some other time."

"I'm... I... I understand." Prue's glow died down as it acquiesced.

Chamca took another look at the green Valvrave, still immobile, wedged into the bulkhead. It seemed he had done enough damage to incapacitate the thing and it was no longer an immediate threat. Good enough. Now all he had to do was get his commandeered Valvrave out of the Module's hanger bay.

_'But how to extract my prize...'_

There was no way around it. Grimacing internally, he opened his host's mouth and began to sing another spell.

* * *

_'He overheated?'_

Saki tried to relax, to reach out and take Carmilla's controls again, but her body wasn't having any of it. The memory of the night before had been debilitating, much more so than the episode in her room that morning.

_'Get it together, girl! It's just lucky he didn't smash in and kill us all!'_

Slowly, her shaking hands extended. She'd just barely managed to rest them on her joysticks when the eerie ocean-grinding-against-rocks sound filled the cockpit again. A green aura flickered to life around the silent VVV II, extending outwards slowly from its chest and gradually enveloping the entire unit.

Saki cringed, bracing herself for an incoming attack, but no such attack came. Instead, VVV II turned, and flew away from the prone Carmilla, waddling through the air like a fat, ungainly bird at first, then gradually picking up speed. It made its way to the broken hanger bay doors and was gone, the remaining Dorssian shuttle following quickly behind it.

_'That's it then? We won?'_

She should be pursuing them. But for now it was all she could do to breathe and hang on to Carmilla's controls. This was no good. How could she go on piloting if this kept happening? Everyone in the module was depending on her. More importantly, she'd just be holding Haruto back again. She couldn't let that-

"Ruk- Uh, Saki, are you okay?"

Haruto's voice broke into her thoughts. Saki looked to her side and there he was, hand half-extended towards her tentatively, his blue eyes filled with concern.

"Yea... I'm okay." She replied softly.

"Is... is this because of what happened? What I-" Haruto's brow furrowed downwards as he spoke, as if an invisible weight was settling onto him.

 _'Oh, hell.'_ Saki had to admit to herself that yes, yes it most likely was. But that wasn't something she could tell Haruto. If he found out she'd been screwed up this much by the rape, he'd just beat himself up over it more. And that wasn't something he needed.

He'd also pity her, probably. And that wasn't something she needed, either.

Saki forced herself to smile. She knew it looked fake, tremulous. But that was fine, a real smile wasn't necessary to sell the lies she was about to tell. "That? No, it wasn't that. I was in the entertainment industry, you know. I've had to deal with that kind of thing a bunch of times before. I just froze up there, like that first time I fought the Dorssians, you know? Afraid to die, that's all."

_'Stop that babbling, he's not gonna buy it!'_

He WASN'T buying it. He was still giving her that look. Behind Haruto, L-Elf was watching in contemplation, probably filing away her continued cowardice in that giant brain of his and factoring how it could be used to his advantage. Great. She couldn't care less what L-Elf thought of her. It was Haruto she needed to convince.

Haruto opened his mouth to speak, but she rode over him. "I don't know why I froze up like that. I mean, I'm supposed to be immortal and all, right? But I thought for sure he was going to smash Carmilla open and that was gonna be it. I'm- I'm gonna have to work on that!"

_'I AM gonna have to work on that. I've gotta deal with this. I HAVE to.'_

"You did fine, Rukino Saki." L-Elf spoke up. His flat voice filled with insincere sympathy. "That kind of reaction is normal for a civilian thrust into a combat role with no training. Under the circumstances you aquitted yourself well."

Saki fought to keep her eyes from rolling automatically. Who did L-Elf think he was gonna fool with THAT level of acting ability? He might as well have put a sign on his forehead that said 'comfort the hysterical damsel mode.' Still, she could work off that.

"Thank you, L-Elf-san." She said, working up a more realistic smile this time. "I'm feeling much better already."

Haruto still had that look, but seemed unwilling to press the point. He hovered awkwardly, hand still half-extended. "As long as you're feeling better..." He swallowed, shot a glance at L-Elf, and then back at her. Clearly he didn't want to discuss certain topics with L-Elf around. Fine by her.

The air seem to grow thick with words unsaid. Haruto's hand still hung there between them, awkward and unsure.

_'Oh, Haruto...'_

Saki reached out and took Haruto's hand, pulling herself towards him and sliding her arms around his shoulders in a tentative embrace. She was half-afraid that he would shove her away like he did that first time, but he made no move to do so. His body stiffened for a moment, and then he relaxed and reached out to hug her back.

His arms moved hesistantly around her. At first he just held her lightly, but as she squeezed him slightly he reciprocated, the material of their flight suits creaking softly. She leaned her helmeted head against his shoulder, wishing that she wasn't wearing the damn thing. Even though she couldn't feel any of his body heat through their suits, the gentle pressure of his arms was soothing around her.

L-Elf looked pointedly away, but Saki didn't notice. For the moment, the only thing that mattered was Haruto's embrace.

* * *

By the time Rukino-san was able to get Carmilla moving again, the fighting was over.

Some of the Dorssians had been abandoned inside the hanger by their compatriots; there hadn't been enough room inside their remaining shuttle to accomodate them all, it seemed. These had been rounded up by the student defense force under the leadership of Kibukawa-sensei. Haruto reminded himself to ask the physics teacher about his sudden display of military proficiency later.

The Dorssians outside the module had retreated as well, leaving behind the overheated VVV V and Nobu Lightning. VVV VI, its pilot still unknown, was hauling the two disabled Valvraves back towards the hanger. L-Elf had gotten back in contact with Command and was issuing orders from the side of Carmilla's cockpit. The main Dorssian fleet was standing off, apparently not willing to get in the module's way after taking the Harakiri Blade.

"Ahh, all's well that ends well, right?" Rukino-san sighed.

_'She seems like she's back to normal. But still...'_

Haruto was still iffy on Rukino-san's explanation for her... attack? Episode? Whatever it was. Yea, she'd frozen up pretty badly the first time she went into combat, but she'd pulled herself out of it and seemed to be fine ever since. Even when the Dorssians locked her down with those boomerang things she'd been alert enough to warn him about them. And if that wasn't the case, then it was probably because of what he'd done.

Guilt flushed hotly through Haruto's belly again. It was stupid of him to just assume that Rukino-san would be able to walk away from what happened unscathed. He was such a terrible person.

It was a wonder Rukino-san could stand to be around him, much less touch him.

_'But what about that hug?'_

Haruto just couldn't understand the hug. She'd been the one to initiate it, too. Victory rush? Relief at having escaped alive? Or was she trying to comfort him?

_'I'll do better by her. Once we're married, I'll-!'_

"Hey, look at that!" Rukino-san chirped.

VVV VI flew back into the hanger, followed by VVV V and Nobu Lightning, wreaths of vapor from the cooling system still steaming off them. Rukino-san piloted Carmilla to join them. The four Valvraves lined up along the wall of the hanger and squatted down.

Yamada was the first one out of his Valvrave, grinning broadly as he pulled off his helmet, his orange hair uncharacteristically crushed flat. "You sure saved our asses back there!" He called out to VVV VI. "Those were some damn nice moves!"

Inuzuka-senpai popped out of VVV V as well. "Thanks for the save! And welcome to the team!"

Rukino-san nodded at Haruto, and then kicked off from her seat, heading for the hatch with L-Elf right behind her. Haruto followed, his enthusiasm for meeting the pilot dampened down by his guilt. But dealing with Rukino-san had to wait; someone else had been cursed, after all, and he couldn't count on them being quite as pleased as Yamada had been.

"Thanks for the hand!" Rukino-san yelled as soon as she was clear of Carmilla. "We were toast back there without you!"

L-Elf didn't say a word; just kicked off towards where the student defense force had the Dorssian captives huddled in a knot.

"Thank you for your help!" Haruto was out of the hatch. "There's some piloting stuff we should talk about, uhm, if you don't mind!"

They had all gathered at the base of VVV VI by now. The purple Valvrave remained silent, although Haruto had the distinct impression that someone was watching them from inside. L-Elf had taken charge of the prisoners and was herding them away with a group of student defense force, no doubt to the jailblock. The remaining members of the defense force were crowding up towards VVV VI, also eager to find out who the new pilot was.

Haruto looked at Inuzuka-senpai and Yamada. "Did they talk to either of you?"

"Nope. We figured their communications were out or something," Inuzuka-senpai responded as Yamada shook his head. "Maybe Otamaya-kun didn't get Unit Six hooked up yet."

"Guess we should wait..." Rukino-san said.

They waited in hushed expectation, spread out in two crescents. The four Valvrave pilots in front, the student defense force behind them, muttering in hushed whispers. A minute passed. Two.

"Dammit! Come out already!" Yamada was out of patience.

"Maybe they're injured in there?" Rukino-san wondered. "Should we go and make sure they're okay?"

"Let's wait a little longer." Inuzuka-senpai offered.

They waited a little longer. The mutterings from the students behind them started to sound concerned.

Haruto was getting concerned as well. "Maybe Saki is right." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Rukino-san sneak a quick look at him. "We should go up there, make sure they're not injured," he continued. "Maybe they took a hit that nobody noticed, or-"

VVV VI's hatch hissed open.

A very familiar head of brown hair poked out of the cockpit.

"Shoko..."

All of Haruto's concern for Rukino-san was drive instantly out of his mind at the sight of Shoko emerging from VVV VI.

"Shoko is... Shoko is cursed!" Had he spoken the words or just thought them? He didn't know.

It couldn't be. But there Shoko was, her upper body rising into view now. How could this happen? Haruto felt like he was crumbling apart. Why was she in the Valvrave? Why wasn't she nice and safe up on the bridge where she belonged?

It was over now. He had failed. Let her down. Shoko had been given a second chance, and he'd squandered it. He'd failed to keep her safe again. If he'd done his job protecting the module, she never would have gotten into the Valvrave. It was all his fault.

Shoko was crouched atop VVV VI now, looking back down into the cockpit. She smiled and waved into the Valvrave as the hatch closed, and then looked up towards them.

_'What's she doing?'_

Shoko started to speak. Haruto strained to listen through the rushing din of his thoughts, hope blossoming in his heart once again as her words became clear.

* * *

Saki was shocked when Shoko-san emerged from VVV VI's cockpit. The Prime Minister was the last person she would have expected to see. Anyone, even Nanami-sensei would have seemed a more likely candidate for the mystery pilot. Not that Shoko-san wasn't committed to the defense of the module, but she didn't seem like the kind of person who would be fighting on the front lines.

Beside her, Haruto gave a choked gasp. "Shoko..."

"Aaaaah? It was Sashinami all along?" Yamada was shocked.

The students behind her murmured in astonishment.

"Prime Minister Sashinami?"

"Sashinami-san?"

Saki took a look over at Haruto. All the blood had drained from his face and his blue eyes were huge in his colorless face.

"Shoko is... Shoko is cursed!" Haruto wheezed out.

"Haruto!" Saki said sharply, trying to snap him out of it. No response.

Saki herself wasn't sure how she felt about Shoko being a fifth pilot. Part of her was grateful to the brunette for saving them all and the module, but the part of her that regarded Shoko as a rival for Haruto was furious. Shoko was taking one step closer to the special bond between herself and Haruto by becoming a Kamitsuki. Immortality, the main obstacle between Haruto and Shoko was now gone, and now how could she hope to compete with Shoko's childhood friend status?

_'No, shouldn't think that way. Shoko saved us all from Dorssia. Think about that first, you selfish bitch!'_

"Thank you, Sashinami-san!" Inuzuka-senpai cheered.

The students behind her were starting to cheer as well.

"Yea! Prime Minister Sashinami!"

"I'm sorry I voted for Satomi-senpai!"

"You're the best Prime Minister ever!"

Shoko-san waved down into VVV VI's cockpit, and then stood up straight, raising her hands, an embarrassed grin appearing on her face.

_'What, is she going to give a speech? Is she becoming a politician that quickly?'_

"Everyone, this is just a misunderstanding!" Shoko-san spread her hands and waved them from side to side. "I'm not the pilot!"

""""EHHHHHHHHHHH?"""" A collective shout rose from all the students, pilots and defense force alike.

"The pilot is a friend of mine, you see! She, uhm, in order to save my life she let me in the cockpit, but she's been the one that's been piloting and saved everyone!" Shoko-san went on.

 _'So it wasn't Shoko after all? Thank goodness!'_ Saki couldn't keep herself from feeling a flush of relief.

"Well? Who is it?" One of the student defense force called out.

"Ah, well, the pilot, she's super-shy, you see, and she doesn't like crowds very much, uhm, so if you could all give her a little-"

"SHOKO!"

Everyone jumped and flinched back from Haruto, who had launched himself up towards Shoko-san with a scream.

"Eh, Haruto, whaaaa-!"

Haruto hurtled into Shoko with such force that she spun around with his arms around her. He stayed there atop VVV VI, hugging her tightly.

Saki stared up at the two in shock. Her Haruto was-

"Yeeeaaa! Way to go, Haruto!" Inuzuka-senpai cheered.

The student defense followed suit, cheering for the two entwined figures atop the Valvrave. A bolt of pain shot through Saki's heart, and she found herself clenching her fist to her chest.

_'Who am I kidding? Shoko-san will always have a special place in Haruto's heart.'_

Standing amid the cheering students and her fellow pilots, looking up at the boy she loved hugging another girl, Saki had never felt more alone.

* * *

Chamca was tired. And also very, very hungry.

He had not expected the student pilots to put up such an effective resistance once he seized the Valvrave. In addition, the appearance of the specialized hacking Valvrave unit had put a wrench into all of his plans. He should have been able to use his commandeered unit's drives to escape the module; instead he'd been forced to expend his rune reserves and burn through more than half of his host's remaining runes to move the thing to rendevous with the _Obersturm_. All he wanted to was get back to his quarters and feed from his emergency ration there. And also to eat his host body's more conventional dinner, delayed since before the operation.

But that, it seemed, was not to be.

As he stepped out onto the _Obersturm's_ hanger, Kriemhild rushed up to him. "Welcome back aboard, sir! You've been summoned by Captain Abrin to his flagship. He said he wants you there immediately."

Chamca sighed. It looked like his dinner was on hold. Again. For both his host body AND himself this time. "Thank you, Kriem. I expect to be back shortly. Have dinner warmed up for me in my quarters, if you please?"

"Of course, sir."

 _'Is that a hint of concern I detect in your voice, Kriem?'_ Ah, what would he do without her?

There was already a shuttle prepared for him. He embarked, nodded to the pilot, and settled in to wait.

To be sure, this turn of events wasn't entirely unexpected. He had laid his plans for such an eventuality well in advance. Chancellor Amadeus would have met with the Council already, and Rear Admiral Wartenberg had placed the notoriously timid Captain Abrin in command of the rear guard of his fleet, as expected. With Wartenberg dead and the majority of the attacking forces destroyed, command passed to Abrin, who no doubt wished to find a scapegoat for the spectacular failure of an operation as quickly as possible.

Chamca would have laughed, if he wasn't so tired. A failure to Dorssia, perhaps. But a resounding victory for the Council. Even now, back on the _Obersturm_ , the captured Valvrave was being readied for transport back to Earth. And he had no intention of being Captain Abrin's scapegoat, either.

All that was needed was one quick call. And there was more than enough time during the flight to make it.

The shuttle docked with Captain Abrin's _Hennecke_ soon enough and Chamca found him being escorted to the Captain's office by a pair of soldiers.

 _'Am I considered a prisoner already?'_ The thought amused him.

The soldiers brought him to the Captain's office, saluted Abrin at his desk, and then left the room, leaving Chamca alone with the Captain.

Chamca studied the man behind the desk. Captain Abrin was a tall, thin man with a sparse mustache, in his thirties but already starting to go gray, stands of silver showing in his thin receding black hair. From his past encounters with the man, Chamca knew him to be one of those types filled with nervous energy, and right now the Captain looked like he was about to have a seizure. His fingersdanced like nervous mice atop his desk and his long, normally pale face was red with anger.

"May I sit?" Cain decided to tweak the man a little.

Captain Abrin looked like he was about to burst a vein at this breach of military etiquette. "No, Colonel Cain, you may stand." He squeezed between his teeth. "Just... what in the HELL were you up to with this operation?"

"I deemed my actions to be in the best interests of Dorssia the Great." Chamca said smoothly.

"You-you- WHAT?!" the Captain exploded. "You withheld information from your superiors that led to the direct FAILURE of the operation! You KNEW ahead of time about that weapon the Valvraves used, didn't you!" He jabbed a long finger towards Chamca's chest. "Your actions led to the deaths of over two thousand Dorssian soldiers, just so you could go on your own private QUEST FOR GLORY! And if these rumors on the internet can be believed, you USED AN ILLEGAL CHEMICAL WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION ON A CIVILIAN POPULATION! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT KIND OF FALLOUT WE'LL BE FACING INTERNATIONALLY OVER THIS?!"

"I captured one of the enemy Valvraves." Chamca offered, letting a bit of smugness creep into his voice.

Captain Abrin looked like he was about to hit him. With a visible effort, the thin Captain calmed himself down. "And I hope it was worth it for you. Colonel Cain, I find your actions amount to no less than TREASON. You may consider yourself under arrest, Colonel. I intend to bring you before a court martial and prosecute you fully for your crimes."

"You do what you need to, Captain." Chamca shrugged as if nothing the Captain said concerned him.

The Captain opened his mouth, but right on cue, the console on his desk bleeped. Scowling, the Captain tapped at the touchscreen.

"Captain sir, you have a call." A woman's hushed voice came over the comm.

"I told you I wasn't to be disturbed!"

"But sir! It's... It's Chancellor Amadeus himself! He says he wants to speak with you!"

"What? The Chan..." The Captain shot Chamca a glance. "Put him through." He hit a button on his console to transfer the call to his phone, and then picked up the receiver from its holder.

"This is Captain Abrin. Yessir, Chancellor sir. Yes, I am. Ah, yes, he's here, sir. Do you... want to speak to him? Ah, alright. I'm-"

Chamca watched Captain Abrin's demeanor change completely. One moment he was meek and nervous, and the next, still nervous, but shocked. His eyes widened, his red face paled, and a bead of sweat rolled down his high forehead.

"Sir! But... he was responsible for the deaths of over two thousand men! He can't... No, sir! No. I'm... No, sir. Ah... I... I understand. Yes, sir."

_'Thank you, Mirko.'_

Captain Abrin hung up his phone, a defeated man. He slumped in his seat. "I suppose it must be nice to have friends in high places, Colonel."

"Indeed." Chamca agreed. "Lifelong friends are a wonderful thing."

"You can show yourself out."

Chamca started to salute the Captain mockingly, then changed his mind. The man's career was over, even if he didn't know it. Why wait until he was back onboard the _Obersturm_ for his dinner? He quickly moved to stand to Captain Abrin's side.

"What, what are you doing? Get out of here." Captain Abrin looked up at him, secure in his rank, not understanding.

Chamca suddenly lunged forward. With one hand, he pinned the Captain's arms, holding them down. With the other hand, he seized Abrin's head by the mouth, twisted to reveal the neck. Abrin let out a short muffled cry as Chamca's fangs sank into his flesh.

Chapter 2 End

* * *

**A/N: Thanks again to xchrispx for beta reading! Also thanks to IzanagiMikoto for helping me streamline some ideas for later on and filling in what would have been a plot hole in Chapter 3. And both of them for bouncing ideas off of in general.**

**It's a little late to be talking about the ending to Valvrave, I suppose. Suffice to say I disliked it immensely... but it actually really motivated me to see this fic through, in order to fix all the mistakes I feel the writers made with the series.**

**For those of you who may be iffy about the Akira x Yamada pairing, I do hope to do justice by them. I'm not going to just throw them together with no development. And just in case you're worried, they WILL have second ticket to Haruto x Saki.**

**And on the note of Haruto x Saki, I'm sorry to do that to you guys at the end of the chapter like that. I promise there won't be anything like that in Chapter 3, at least! :D And as far as Chapter 3 goes, the recap ends here, and we're into completely new territory from here on out.**

**Hope you enjoyed reading and here's to seeing you in the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Pilots' Meeting

"Quit fiddling with it!"

"It's still too quiet! The people in the back can't hear!"

"We can hear it just fine, Ogura-chan!"

"Just settle down, he'll be on any moment!"

The girl with the blond twintails stopped poking at the television's volume controls and sat down reluctantly.

Saki looked on from her position at the back of the teachers' lounge. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed. The dozens of students packed into the room were murmuring amongst themselves, and the susurrus of multiple hushed conversations washed over her. The seats in the room were nowhere near enough to accomodate everyone-although most, like herself, were too excited to sit anyway.

A wave of anger thrummed through her at the thought of it. Just how dare he?

_'If it's not an apology, I'll personally go down there and rip his lungs out.'_

The television screen showed the image of an empty podium, brightly lit and bristling with microphones. The wall behind the podium was adorned with an enormous red and white flag featuring an elaborate eight-pointed device.

The flag of the Dorssian Military Federation.

It would have been much better to do this in the auditorium, Saki reflected. But the much larger room had been turned into some kind of conference center for meetings with ARUS. And so they were stuck with this, using the cafeteria and teachers' lounges in the main school building.

It had been five days since the Dorssian attack. Three days since landing on the Moon.

Five exhausting, soul-crushing days.

The burst of victory that filled the module after the battle had been short-lived. The Dorssians left behind an absolute mess: the hanger was trashed, and all 64 decks from top to bottom were perforated by their drill. ARUS Moonspace regulations didn't allow for the rubble to just be ejected into space-too much of a collision risk-so it all had to be collected and stored on the module, out of the way.

There was heavy equipment to move the larger pieces, but the smaller pieces had to be moved by hand. They were packed into crates, shoved through the zero-g areas, up into the dome, and driven away to be dumped in outskirts of the ruined city. It wasn't a total waste, of course. Even now deals were being hammered out with ARUS construction crews to reclaim the materials and use it for repairs.

The real issue wasn't the rubble, however.

It was the bodies.

Thirty-eight Sakimori students had been left dead in the wake of the Dorssian attack. Added to Aina-chan and the sixteen dead in the initial attack on the Sphere, they were down to 428 students of their original 483.

Saki had taken her shift with the others at moving rubble. The bullet-riddled corpses of the engineering crew in the hanger were bad enough, but the bodies of the students killed by poison gas were much worse. They were still twisted grotesquely by the spasms of their death throes, and many of them had vomited or voided their bowels as they'd died.

Saki didn't know any of the dead students personally, but the grief of other students at finding the bodies of their close friends still touched her. It was a grief she knew only too well.

_'Everyone lost is someone's Aina-chan, after all...'_

If the exhausting days weren't enough, Saki hadn't been sleeping well either. She'd been having bad dreams that didn't quite cross the line into being nightmares. In most of them she wandered around, alone in blue-tinged darkness, the wind cold on her back while a bloated moon shone down from above. She always woke disoriented, feeling strangely dirty. And even extra-long showers didn't leave her feeling clean. At least she hadn't freaked out again since the battle. She was getting better, she was sure of it.

The mood in Module 77 had changed radically after the attack. Before, everyone just yearned to get to the moon and put an end to the fighting. But now many students wanted revenge on Dorssia, and Sakimori simmered with anger. The number of students volunteering for L-Elf's boot camp had tripled, although the pseudo-military training had not resumed after the attack; everyone had been too busy moving debris.

When the news about the Dorssians' poison gas had hit the internet, there'd been a massive outcry, not just among the neutral nations and ARUS, but also from many within Dorssia as well. The eyes of the world were focused on Dorssia, and what could Dorssia do but be forced to respond?

And so, this Dorssian media event. The Dorssian Chancellor was to address the world on live television.

Except the Chancellor was late. And everyone was getting antsy.

There was a fanfare, and Saki focused her attention on the television set. The teachers' lounge grew silent around her as the other students did the same.

"Citizens of the Dorssia the Great, ARUS, nations around the world. I present Chancellor Amadeus Konig Dorssia." The solemn voice of the female Dorssian announcer intoned.

The Dorssian Chancellor walked to the podium accompanied by thunderous applause from the on-site Dorssian audience.

The showgirl in Saki couldn't help but be impressed, even as her heart throbbed with hatred. It was one hell of an entrance. The Dorssian was dressed in ornate flowing robes, a crimson cloth draped gracefully over one shoulder. He looked stately, imposing, more god than man, the light gleaming off the golden ornament on his forehead.

The effect wasn't lost on her fellow students. More than a few of the audience in the room with her gasped or murmured in surprise.

"Citizens of Dorssia! Citizens of the world!" Amadeus began. His voice was deep, filled with thunder and power-the kind of voice that commanded attention. "Many of you have heard rumors about the use of illegal chemical weapons of mass destruction by the Dorssian military. It grieves me to say... the rumors are true. Five days ago, forces of the Dorssian military used chemical weapons outlawed by the New Guinea Accords on the population of Module 77."

_'Whoa! He admitted it?'_

Saki hadn't expect that. And neither, by the looks of it, had the other students. The room broke out in shocked whispers.

"The Dorssian people and military deeply regret the use of these weapons... and we have pledged to not let such an incident occur again. We have conducted an investigation of the event, and have found the parties responsible."

_'I can't believe this. He's really apologizing?'_

"Our investigation revealed that the incident was the responsibility of one man." Amadeus paused for a moment, and an overlay appeared onscreen, showing the face of a thin middle-aged man with graying hair.

Saki squinted at the picture. That wasn't the glowy monster man she'd fought in Carmilla, was it? She hadn't gotten a good look at him in the hanger, but hadn't that man been blond?

"This is Captain Josef Abrin of the Dorssian Lunar Defense Fleet. The orders to use chemical weapons originated with him."

Definitely not him. She didn't remember the guy's name, but the man she fought had been a Colonel. Not to mention L-Elf had been sure that it was that Colonel who had planned the attack.

"Captain Abrin suffered a nervous breakdown when he was confronted with his crimes. Nevertheless, we convened a military tribunal. Based on its findings, Captain Abrin has been sentenced to death." The Dorssian Chancellor paused for a moment to let his words sink in. On cue, the Dorssian audience began to cheer.

 _'Nervous breakdown. That's awfully convenient, isn't it?'_ Saki smelled a cover-up.

"However." Amadeus continued. "Because the use of chemical weapons was instigated by one man, the Dorssian Military Federation does not accept responsibility for their use. No matter how abhorrant the act, an entire nation cannot be held responsible for the actions of one of its members who happens to be a criminal."

The room, which had fallen silent in anticipation of Amadeus' apology, rustled into angry murmurings again.

"Furthermore, Module 77 has long since declared its independance from JIOR, forming a new and sovereign nation, the so-called New JIOR. As New JIOR is not a signatory to the New Guinea Accords, it is therefore not protected under the internation laws that prohibit the use of chemical weapons."

"Fuck you! Give me back Susumu-senpai!" A girl in the audience shrieked in rage.

 _'Is this bastard serious?'_ Saki's hands curled into fists. _'Just because we didn't sign some paper that we had no possible chance to sign, he's saying it's okay for us to be gassed to death?'_

Over the outraged cries of the students, Amadeus pressed on. "Over the past few days there have been many voices calling for international sanctions against Dorssia for the use of a weapon of mass destruction." He fixed the camera with a glare. "Make no mistake, this is hypocrisy. As an official death count has not been released by New JIOR, we do not know exactly how many were killed in the chemical attack. However, we estimate that no more than seventy, likely closer to fifty, were killed."

_'No more than? Does he want to kill even more of us?'_

"While the loss of these lives is indeed tragic, it pales before the deaths of over SEVEN THOUSAND Dorssian servicemen and women from the New JIORans' unrestricted use of their own weapons of mass destruction, the Valvraves."

"What?" Saki blurted out.

_'Seven thousand?'_

A dark part of her wanted to cheer for all those Dorssian dead. Another part, a much larger one, to her relief, was appalled. All those dead... And she'd been responsible for at least some of them.

_'How many of those Dorssians were someone's Aina-chan?'_

"IT'S NOT THE SAME!" The same student from before yelled. "YOU BASTARDS ATTACKED US FIRST! NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!"

On the screen, the Dorssian Chancellor's face and voice had grown stern. "So perhaps those of you watching from ARUS should examine your prospective bedfellows more closely, before you make any choices you may regret. Dorssia will not continue to tolerate the wanton killing of her sons and daughters."

Amadeus' hand snapped up in a salute. "BLITZENDEGEN!"

"BLITZEDEGEN!" The unseen Dorssian crowd roared back.

The teachers' lounge erupted into angry yells and jeers. Saki found herself wanting to join them. Amadeus' threatening final words made it much harder to feel sympathy for the DOrssian dead.

Besides, she wasn't the one that had killed most of those people. Seven thousand? That had to be...

_'Haruto. What will Haruto think of this broadcast?'_

How would Haruto take the news that he'd killed thousands of Dorssians with the Harakiri Blade? It was a gray area, one she had to admit she didn't know Haruto well enough in. On one hand, he seemed to have no problem with killing enemy combatants. But he didn't like the idea of killing the helpless. After the immediate aftermath of the Dorssian attack had set in, a few days ago, several of the students had wanted to execute all the Dorssian prisoners. Haruto had been one of the loudest voices in opposition. And then there was his hesitation about killing the Dorssian Colonel.

Thinking about Haruto opened the wound in Saki's heart that had been aching since he'd embraced Shoko-san. Her relationship with Haruto had gone back to more or less what it was before the election, and she'd been too busy with the cleanup to press him about the issue. Now and then she found herself wondering if the Shoko-san scare had made him regret proposing to her.

If it was any consolation, he seemed to be actively avoiding Shoko-san. She hadn't seen them interact in public even once over the last five days... although that might not even mean anything.

Students were filing past her now on their way out of the room. Saki checked her phone.

_'8:19. Time to go to L-Elf's pilot meeting soon. Haruto can't avoid me there. I won't let him. I'll make sure he talks to me after.'_

_'And if he decided the proposal was a mistake?'_

The thought was so painful she couldn't bring herself to contemplate it further. With a sigh, she tucked away her phone.

* * *

Mikhail sat at the table placed in the middle of dry dock, his eyes closed. Normally the chamber was zero-g, but it was also fitted with grav plating, which he had turned on for the time being.

Even unseen, he could feel the looming presence of VVV VI above him. He'd had it brought here to its original storage area for the meeting. More than just its presence, his soldier's intuition told him the occupant of VVV VI was scrutinizing him through the unit's sensors. Let her watch, it didn't matter to him.

He went over the list of pilots in his head once again.

Inuzuka Kyuma. One of Mikhail's top seven choices to pilot Valvrave. Inuzuka hadn't disappointed him upon gaining VVV V. The senior had taken Mikhail's advice to conduct warfare like a machine to heart. He was precise, efficient, cool-headed in combat, and goal-oriented. In addition, he was popular among the volunteers and showed promising leadership potential. If he were in the Dorssian military, he would have been officer material. Mikhail was pleased to have Inuzuka on the team and had even been toying with the idea of asking Inuzuka to lead a class on small arms training for the volunteers...

Yamada Raizo. Another of his top seven picks. Quick and ferocious, the junior was certainly the most aggressive JIORan Mikhail had ever encountered, although that aggression had its drawbacks in a fight. Yamada's situational awareness was shamefully poor, and he had a tendency to go all-out on offence, giving no thought to retreat or recovery. But his negative trait was by no means insurmountable, and with training and experience Yamada had the makings of a fine soldier, although no more than that.

Tokishima Haruto. Mikhail's lips twitched involuntarily in an almost-smile. The boy's sweetly naive attitude had grown even more silly in comparision to his deeds. If Chancellor Amadeus' speech could be believed, Haruto's kill count now surpassed Mikhail's own. Of course, that was due more to VVV I's capabilities than any innate combat skill Haruto himself possessed. Although Haruto would not have been Mikhail's first choice to pilot the Valvrave, he could find no fault with the boy's piloting; he was fearless in battle and fought with a certain fatalism. The most important thing, however, was that Haruto trusted him. Between that and his heroic status in New JIOR, Haruto was the lynchpin in Mikhail's plans.

All in all, not a bad mix. The other two pilots, however...

Rukino Saki. Mikhail had half-expected the former idol to die gruesomely upon entering VVV IV. He'd regretted his decision to have her test the unit immediately afterwards, when she had been terrified and ineffective in battle. He couldn't fault Rukino's dedication to piloting, however. Seemingly aware of her own weakness, she was the only one of the pilots to train extensively in her Valvrave, and her skill had grown by leaps and bounds. And being able to hold out for so long against Cain was nothing less than incredible, for a civilian with no prior military background.

But then she'd cracked. Badly.

Mikhail had seen it before dozens of times during his time at Karlstein. Not everyone had the fortitude necessary for the program, and washouts exhibited progressive mental deterioration before total collapse. Once the first cracks showed, they were eventually done for. A small number managed to tough it out, but remained permanently damaged... like poor Q-Vier.

The situation, he imagined, was similar for the Valvrave pilots, although their trials were far less harsh than the Karlstein program. Would Rukino Saki adapt? Or be overcome? He hoped she would rally; there was no telling if VVV IV would accept another pilot, after all.

_'She'll bear close watching.'_

And the last...

Mikhail blew out a breath. He had deep, deep reservations about the final pilot.

Renbokoji Akira. The Watcher had a name. He'd gone to check the student manifests after hearing it, but she wasn't there. Nonetheless she must have received the same modifications as the other students in order to be able to pilot Valvrave, so it was probable that she'd used her hacking skills to remove herself from the database.

The part of Mikhail obsessed with efficiency and order had been deeply disturbed by the condition of the girl's squalid living space: The bits of trash and half-eaten food scattered around. The jars of urine and feces he'd found tucked against the wall, hidden by a blanket. JIOR ranked among the top nations in the Human Development Index, and Sakimori did not lack for amenities or lodgings. Why in the world would she choose to live like a refugee in some resettlement camp?

She must have been eating like a refugee too. Despite all the junk food lying around, her body when he'd gone to tie her down was thin and frail, an atrophied mess. But her struggles had been unexpectedly energetic and she had very nearly bucked free of his grasp in a frenzy, so she seemed to be physically healthy otherwise. The only conclusion he'd been able to draw from that was she had had very little physical activity, possibly for years. Years! How long had she been living in that shanty? And why? Obviously she wasn't a prisoner; there were no restraints and the door was wide open.

_'The only explanation remaining is that she is insane.'_

Mikhail had nothing against the girl, but clearly, Renbokoji Akira belonged in a mental institution, NOT at the helm of one of the most powerful war machines ever created by man. Her status as a pilot made him apprehensive. He'd met his share of insane people at Karlstein, too. in their final stages of collapse many failed trainees descended into various types of psychosis. They were unpredictable at best, and downright dangerous at worst.

But he also had to admit that, insane or no, she was the only reason why he wasn't currently in a Dorssian detention cell... or more likely dead. And there was hardly anyone among the students more fitted to VVV VI's unique abilities... not that it mattered, because the unit was keyed to her now.

_'For better or worse I seem to be stuck with her.'_

But he wouldn't allow her mental problems to endanger the plan. Mikhail decided that at the first sign of difficulty, he would cut her loose.

The door whooshed open, and Mikhail opened his eyes to see Otamaya Yusuke and Kibukawa Takumi enter.

"Hey, L-Elf." Otamaya said, while Kibukawa just nodded.

Otamaya Yusuke and Kibukawa Takumi. The former had seen something he wasn't supposed to see during the attack on the hanger. Mikhail had considered briefly if he should kill the bespectacled student, but had decided against it: Tokishima Haruto would likely take that poorly. He had discussed it with Kibukawa, and they had decided to integrate Otamaya into the group-of course, it was a perfect opportunity to integrate Kibukawa as well, using the same cover story. They had also agreed to not reveal the full details of Kibukawa's involvement with the VVV Project. There was no telling how the students might react if they found out fully about what had been done to them.

Mikhail inclined his head in brief greeting as Otamaya and Kibukawa took their places at the table. Behind them, the door whooshed open again, and Rukino Saki came into the room.

"Ah, R-Ruki!" Otamaya stammered.

Rukino gave him a surprised look as she settled into a seat. "Otamaya-kun? Are you here about Carmilla?"

"Ah, ahm, no..." Otamaya looked away from Rukino. "It's about-"

"Please wait till everyone is present." Mikhail cut Otamaya off. "Rukino Saki. Did you prepare what I asked you for?"

"Mmm-hmm." Rukino gave Otamaya a confused look, then pulled a flash drive out of her pocket and slid it across the table to L-Elf.

"Thank you." L-Elf slotted the flash drive into the holo-projector on the table.

* * *

Haruto was the second-to-last to arrive.

As he crossed the room, Rukino-san smiled at him. He smiled back, feeling guilty for leaving her hanging so long. The image of her stricken face turning away from him in the hanger days ago as he disentangled himself from Shoko came back to him momentarily.

_'I've made my choice, though. Just need to follow through. I'll get her alone after this meeting and tell her!'_

As his gaze left Rukino-san, he noticed Otamaya-kun and Kibukawa-sensei seated at the table. Odd. L-Elf had called it a pilots' meeting, so why were those two here? Something to do with the state of the Valvraves?

As he slid into a chair, the door opened once again, and in came a disgruntled-looking Inuzuka-senpai, dressed in a suit and holding a tablet.

"Making us more money, Minister of Finance?" Haruto teased as Inuzuka-senpai took a seat.

"Hardly." Inuzuka-senpai groaned, setting down his tablet. "Just got out of a meeting with some ARUS people. Apparently I don't have enough schooling or work experience for them. So I've gotta work through this college course-" He tapped the tablet "-before they'll take me seriously."

"Ouch." Rukino-san said sympathetically. "That's adults for you. They won't let you play if it's not by their rules."

"You can say that again." Inuzuka-senpai said.

Kibukawa-sensei looked a little pained by the exchange. "L-Elf, should we get started?"

"What about the new pilot?" Inuzuka-senpai wanted to know.

L-Elf pointed at VVV VI.

 _'So she's in there today too?'_ Haruto peered at VVV VI.

"I've asked you here today because there's some things we need to discuss as a unit, now that we have a full complement of pilots. There are three issues I wanted to cover today." L-Elf said.

"Like what?" Yamada asked.

"I think Otamaya Yusuke would be the best to explain the first."

All eyes turned to the otaku.

"Ahhh..." Otamaya-kun adjusted the collar of his uniform. A resolute look appeared on his face, and he fixed his gaze squarely on Rukino-san.

"When the Dorssians had me in the hanger... I saw them shoot you, Ruki. You should have been killed, or at least be in the hospital, but you were just fine not twenty minutes later. What... what ARE you?"

_'Oh, crap.'_

There was a moment of silence.

Rukino-san shrugged and tipped her head to one side. "Oh, no! Otamaya-kun, you're much too concerned about me! They just grazed me a few times, thats all. Honestly, you'd think trained soldiers would shoot better, right?"

Otamaya-kun looked grim. "Please don't, Ruki... I know what I saw, and Kibukawa-sensei saw it too. Didn't you, Sensei?"

Kibukawa-sensei nodded. Rukino-san sighed in defeat, looking helplessly towards L-Elf.

Haruto found himself on his feet. "You haven't told anyone else about this, right?"

"No way!" Otamaya-kun held up his hands. "Something like that? They'd just think I was crazy!"

"Otamaya-kun and I compared notes," Kibukawa-sensei said. "And then I decided to bring it up to L-Elf, who, as it turned out, knew exactly what we were talking about."

"I swore them to secrecy," L-Elf said. "And promised that today you'd explain what they saw."

"So... spill!" Otamaya-kun said.

_'Ahh... that's not so bad then. At least it's only two people. And they're both trustworthy.'_

Haruto sat back down, delicately choosing his words. He had to be careful about how he phrased it-

"Us Valvrave pilots don't die, even if we get shot! It's totally fucking awesome!" Yamada beat him to the punch.

"We're called Kamitsuki. Something happened when we got in the Valvraves for the first time..." Inuzuka-senpai began.

"It's kinda like being a vampire, but with different rules." Rukino-san threw in.

Haruto sat back as the three pilots began to explain their new existence to Otamaya-kun and Kibukawa-sensei. As long as they were having fun, he supposed.

* * *

"And you can take possession of people by biting them?" Kibukawa-sensei asked.

"Yup!" Rukino-san beamed. "It'd be cooler if we could make thralls or ghouls, right? Although..." The smile faded from her face. "There's definitely drawbacks to it too..."

_'Thralls? Ghouls? What's she talking about?'_

"This is great! It's just like being in an anime!" Otamaya-kun was almost crying tears of joy. "And I'm in on the secret! It's totally awesome!" He suddenly blinked as something occured to him.

"Hey, wait a minute." Otamaya-kun jabbed an accusing finger at Haruto. "So that picture with you and Ruki... you... YOU BIT RUKI?"

"What? NO!" Haruto screeched. "It was the other way around!"

"Eh?"

"You got me!" Rukino-san said in mock horror. "I bit Haruto for that picture. And that was me on his Wired account."

"You... you..." Otamaya-kun was glaring daggers at Haruto. "You got bitten by Ruki! You traitor!"

"What? Why me? She went joyriding in my body!"

"I can't very well blame Ruki, now can I?"

"Ah, actually..." Rukino-san interjected. "It was my fault, Otamaya-kun. I got a little carried away, and uhm, I shouldn't have done all those things in Haruto's body." She turned to Haruto. "Sorry!"

Otamaya sagged in his chair. "Oh. That's not so... I mean, it's not like you two are really an item, right?"

_'An item...'_

Suddenly somber, Haruto couldn't keep from shooting a glance at Rukino-san. He caught her guestioning look back at him and blood rushed to his face, at the same time guilt flushed through his gut again.

Otamaya-kun hadn't missed them looking at each other. "Oh come on! You totally are! That's cheating, Haruto!"

Haruto was saved from having to respond by L-Elf, who cleared his throat and spoke. "If you're done explaining, we should move on."

"Sorry..." Otamaya-kun mumbled.

"As you've just heard," L-Elf said, "The Valvraves can only be piloted by Sakimori students. However, during the battle, an incomplete Valvrave unit was hijacked by a Dorssian, who was able to operate it. This is footage from Unit Four's cockpit feed, taken shortly before the hijacking."

"She's Carmilla!" Rukino-san grumbled.

L-Elf ignored her and tapped the holo-projector on the table. An image appeared in the air, and they watched as it ran through the battle from Carmilla's perspective.

As the recording neared its end, Haruto began to dread the part with Rukino-san's outburst. He didn't want anyone to see her like that, although he wasn't sure if it was out of concern for her, or because of his own guilt in causing her condition. He considered speaking up and asking that the recording be paused, but mercifully whoever edited the footage ended the recording early, as VVV II had its cooling fin torn away.

"What in the hell was that?" Yamada asked.

"The same light as the Valvraves..." Inuzuka-senpai mused.

"Couldn't tell you." Rukino-san said. "And L-Elf, it's weird, but that sound didn't show up in the recording."

"Sound?" L-Elf seemed confused.

"The sound," Haruto said. "You know, just before the light show started?"

"What sound?" L-Elf asked again.

"You know, that sound in Carmilla's cockpit. The whole MMhnnngmmmm-mmnnggnMNN-mnnngunnn thing?" Rukino-san rumbled deep in her throat.

"I don't remember hearing anything like that..." L-Elf said slowly.

_'Only me and Rukino-san heard it? What the heck does that mean?'_

"Did you two hear anything like that?" Haruto asked Inuzuka-senpai and Yamada, who both shook their heads.

"But we definitely heard it!" Rukino-san exclaimed. "There was a weird sound!"

L-Elf sighed. "The next time either of you hears a sound like that, let me know. There's too many irregularities going on to dismiss anything out of hand. For now, let's focus on what did make it into the recording. Does anyone have any insights?"

Everyone was silent. Otamaya-kun opened his mouth, then closed it.

"This guy ain't normal, that's for sure." Yamada spoke up after a few seconds. "But he's not like us. I know I can't shoot out no fireworks like that. How bout you guys?"

Haruto and the other Kamitsuki shook their heads.

"Maybe he's the result of Dorssian research?" Inuzuka-senpai offered. "Something like their own Valvrave program?"

"If there was a project on the Dorssian side, it was buried deep," L-Elf said. "I've never heard of anything like this."

"Well, what else could it be?" Rukino-san asked. "Actual vampires? Spirits? Aliens? ...Spirit-aliens?"

"It could be anything," Haruto said in frustration. "We just don't KNOW enough!"

"Hey, hey!" Yamada perked up. "Who says we gotta know anything? We can bust this thing wide open right now!"

"What do you mean?" Haruto asked.

"I mean... forget figuring out what it means! Somebody over on the Dorssian side wants to keep this a secret, right? Screw em!" Yamada pulled out his cell phone and turned it on. "I've got my phone right here, and I say we upload this baby to the internet, let the whole world know something screwy is going on with the Dorssians!"

As Yamada held his cell phone out in front of him, it suddenly bleeped.

"Eh?" Yamada pressed on the touchscreen. "Hang on, I got a text." He looked at the screen for a moment. "The fuck? Who the hell is 'Rainbow?'"

_'Rainbow... Rainbow... Why does that sound so familiar?'_

Haruto leaned in to read the message on Yamada's cell.

 **RAINBOW:** Uploading the video won't DO anything. There's no context. You can't explain to people what they're supposed to see, so you can't shape their reactions. Too uncontrolled.

It was the icon by the username that did it. Haruto remembered seeing the green fluffy thing from another computer display. "It's the person that uploaded the footage of me fighting the Dorssians!"

"Eh? That person?" Yamada looked around in confusion. "Who the hell are you? How are you hearing what I'm saying?"

The phone bleeped again.

 **RAINBOW:** I'm in Little Witch.

"Little Witch? What?" Yamada sputtered.

 **RAINBOW:** The robot.

Haruto turned to look at the towering purple shape of VVV VI. The mystery pilot? Renbokoji-senpai's sister, if what he heard was correct?

"Akira-chan, right?" Inuzuka-senpai addressed VVV VI. "It worked great when you uploaded that video of Haruto the first time. Why wouldn't it work now?"

After a few seconds, Yamada's phone bleeped again. Everyone squeezed towards him to read the screen, but Yamada pulled his phone away in annoyance. "Quit crowdin' me! I'll read it, gimmie some space!"

Everyone sat back down.

"The reason why my video worked," Yamada read out loud. "Was because the Dorssian attack was already being discussed, with JIOR being viewed as a victim. There was alot of information in other channels that provided a framework for the footage to be interpreted in a heroic light. Yes, we have alot of discussion right now about how the Dorssians used poison gas, but that has no bearing on this glowing lights guy. And we ourselves don't know enough to manipulate public discourse to our advantage. We can't predict how the information will be received on social media, so it's best not to post it until we have a better understanding, or proof."

"Huh." Haruto was at a loss for words.

"Makes sense to me," Inuzuka-senpai said.

Yamada was reading the message again to himself. "The hell is this supposed to mean?" He muttered.

"It's basic PR," Rukino-san explained to Yamada. "It's just like in show business, whenever you tell the press anything you need to make sure it makes you look good. So until we get a better feel for how people will react, we should keep this video to ourselves."

"Oh." Yamada nodded. "Well, why didn't you just say that?" He looked back at VVV VI.

Haruto waited for Yamada's phone to bleep again, but it was silent. It seemed the mysterious Akira-chan was done for the moment.

_'I guess that's hikkis for you. Best not to push her if she doesn't want to talk to us though.'_

"I think Akira-chan has the right idea." Inuzuka-senpai said. "We really should wait until we have more information before we go public."

"What should we do about it then?" Haruto asked.

"Be prepared for any Dorssians you face to exhibit these abilities in the future." L-Elf advised. "I will ask our prisoners if they know anything about Cain's powers, although it's unlikely they do. And if any of you find yourself developing additional abilities, tell myself or Kibukawa at once."

"Got it!"

"And the third issue," L-Elf said. "The Dorssians have managed to capture a Valvrave unit. There's no telling how quickly they'll be able to reverse engineer it, or what they'll learn from doing so. We may lose our technological advantage over them unless we also develop our capabilities... but first we have to understand our current capabilities."

L-Elf looked around the table slowly. "We still know very little about how the Kamitsuki and the Valvrave function. To that end Kibukawa and I propose a series of experiments, designed to find out exactly what you and the Valvraves can do. With your consent, of course."

_'A chance to find out more about this curse. How can I say no?'_

"I'm in," Haruto said firmly.

Inuzuka-senpai spoke up. "I was thinking something similar back when I first became a Kamitsuki. But... uh, then various things happened and I kinda forgot about it. I'm definitely in."

"Count me in too!" Yamada grinned. "Have I got a surprise for you!"

Rukino-san was scowling at them. "I don't like this idea. I think you're just signing up to be a bunch of lab rats. ...But if you're all going for it, then so am I."

L-Elf looked towards VVV VI. "And you, Renbokoji Akira?"

There was no response from the Valvrave.

"That's fine." L-Elf said after a few moments. "Four is more than enough. Should we discuss schedules?"

* * *

_'Stupid, stupid, stupid!'_

Why had she done that? Typed out a giant wall of text like that? This wasn't the net; normal people didn't talk like that!

Akira huddled in a ball in Little Witch's pilot seat, utterly miserable. The problem, she reflected, was that five years of isolation had rotted her social skills down to nothing. Not that the social skills she had from before would have been any help either. What would the stupid little girl she'd been in middle school possibly have to say to high schoolers?

That was it. She'd fucked up again. Now they thought she was some kind of arrogant, know-it-all bitch. Another door closed.

_'Why? Why is it so different? On the net I don't care what anybody thinks, so why am I dropping spaghetti so hard now when I haven't even talked to them?'_

Five days ago, it had been so bright. So wonderful. She'd gotten out! She had a giant robot! Her life was hers again!

She'd even made a friend.

_**"Look at them all, Akira-chan! They're all cheering for you! They all want to be your friends!" Shoko-chan said encouragingly.** _

Shoko-chan meant well, Akira knew that. But she just didn't UNDERSTAND. Those words, and the sight of all those people standing in their rows in front of Little Witch, waiting to greet her, so much like that first day of middle school so long ago, had started her on her way into another panic attack.

Thankfully Shoko-chan had noticed her hyperventilating, and had gone out in her place to greet the mob. Effortlessly. Easily. Without a second thought.

Akira envied her so much.

She'd huddled in her seat for a while. She wasn't sure how long. By the time she could even think about leaving again it was too late; there were even MORE people in the hanger by then, gawkers in the aftermath of the battle.

Soon after, Satomi brought her supplies from her room. She had her toiletry supplies. Sponge for baths. Food. Water. Jars for her to do her business in. Blankets. A change of clothes. Even Ms. Tomato. Satomi'd sent off the worst of the gawkers, made sure people didn't get too close to Little Witch.

Her "loving" onii-chan. Five years too late.

And just like that, she was a worm in the darkness again. All she'd really done was flee from one prison into another.

Shoko-chan had been so busy in the days after the attack. Meetings and interviews and addresses. She and Akira still chatted via texts, but Shoko's schedule had only allowed her to visit once. And it had been nothing like the relaxed visits they used to have, where Shoko-chan would tell her all sorts of things and make interesting taste combinations; she could only stay for a few minutes before she had to go.

Living in Little Witch was certainly a lot less convenient than back in her room. Sleeping in zero-g was a pain to get used to. Washing and doing her business were monumental tests of dexterity and her knowledge of zero-g fluid mechanics.

_'At least it's not so bad here with the grav plating on...'_

Akira had thought about going back to her room dozens of times. But that felt wrong, somehow. Like taking a step back. Even if she couldn't manage to leave Little Witch, the move had been progress. A major event in the unchanging morass of her life.

There had been other opportunities to step out of Little Witch in the past few days, none of which she'd been able to take. None of which had been better than this, the pilots' meeting. She'd even dressed up in her school uniform for the occasion. Nice shirt. Nice skirt.

But when the time came, she couldn't do it. First there was that bastard L-Elf, sitting there so smugly. How she hated him! She could still feel his hard, awful hands grabbing at her, holding her down. The humiliation as he'd gone through her stuff, the agony of her bladder full to bursting. She'd almost peed herself, would have, if Shoko hadn't come to the rescue when she did.

_'Sure, I can't go to the bathroom like a normal human anymore. But I'm not an animal, dammit!'_

L-Elf had violated her sanctuary, assaulted her, and trussed her up hand and foot. Tried to take away the last shred of dignity she had. She would never forgive him.

After that had come the teacher. How like a Dorssian to lie about it being a pilots' meeting, and then invite a teacher. If it had been just the student pilots, she could have gone out there. Maybe. But the teacher would want to ask all sorts of questions. Questions she couldn't answer. She wasn't in the student database, after all. So she just sat there, immobile, as the room filled up.

Akira had relaxed a little after the discussion started. The pilots were so friendly with each other. They seemed to have a sense of easy comradery that she wanted to share in, more than anything. And the mystery posed by the video distracted her, took enough of the edge off her anxiety for her to fire off some text messages-

-and totally botch the first impression they had of her.

Akira bunched up her fists and thumped her thighs in misery, hard enough to bruise. Why? Why had she done it? What was so difficult about explaining it simply, like what Rukino-san said?

It looked like they were finishing up now. The pilots were standing and stretching, making for the door. There went her chance.

The teacher and L-Elf went first. Then Tokishima and Rukino, followed by Otamaya and the green-haired student she couldn't remember the name of. The tall muscular student with the silly orange hair was last... but instead of heading for the door, he was walking towards Little Witch?

 _'What does he want? Is it about the text?'_ Akira glanced at the student database that she'd pulled up earlier on her console. Yamada Raizo? His student ID photo scowled fiercely up at her. His eyes were so mean!

At least he wasn't scowling now. Yamada had come to a stop in front of Little Witch and was grinning up at her widely. What was he so happy about?

"I figured out your screenname!" He declared.

"Huh?" She said out loud.

 _'What's with this guy?'_ When you sent a text on Wired it had your screenname right by the text! What about that took figuring out?

"Renbokoji Akira. Renbokoji. Renbo. Rainbow!" Yamada beamed up at her.

Akira blinked. She hadn't been expecting that. The bilingual pun in her screenname had been something she came up with years ago. True, no one had remarked on it before, but no one had known her real name to make the connection either. So... was it an accomplishment... or... what?

"Not bad, huh?" Yamada went on. "But I got one for you." He struck a pose, arms folded proudly across his chest. "They call me THUNDER! Can you figure out why?"

Without waiting for an answer, he waved and headed for the door.

Akira glanced down at her console. _'Well, that's easy, isn't it? Might be harder if I didn't have his name written down in front of me.'_

Yamada was nearly to the door. She reached for her controls slowly, her fingers trembling.

_'Do it fast, before you psyche yourself out!'_

She hit the toggle for the external speakers. Took a deep breath.

"Ya-Yamada Raizo. Yamada. Read the 'yama' as, as 'san.' Sanda. Thunder!"

Thunder turned halfway in the open doorway, grinning. "Hey! You're not half bad!"

He turned back through the door and was gone.

_'Nope, not nearly as scary as his picture makes him look.'_

Akira found herself smiling like a moron. Her heart was going pitter-patter in her chest. Nervous, but not the bad kind of nervous, the kind that threatened to cripple her with panic. The NORMAL kind of nervous. Talking to Thunder had felt good. It certainly had gone much better than last time, when she'd phoned Shoko-chan.

Maybe she'd made some progress after all.

* * *

Haruto and Rukino-san walked slowly down the hallway together. In some kind of unspoken agreement, they had let the others all pass them, and now they were the only ones left in the corridor outside the storage bay.

_'Just say it!'_

Haruto started to speak, but at the same time, Rukino-san also opened her mouth.

"Haruto, we-"

"Saki, I'm-"

They both stopped talking. Haruto looked down, feeling a blush start.

"Sorry. You first." Haruto said.

"No, you." Rukino-san said.

_'Here goes.'_

"Saki, I'm sorry for how I treated you after the battle." He started.

"Ah, no no! It wasn't a big deal, really!" Rukino-san said quickly. "It's okay! You were just worried about Shoko-san, that's all!"

"It's not okay! I know-I saw the look on your face, Saki."

Rukino-san didn't respond. She just looked at him solemnly. Her face which had been so full of hurt back then was now unreadable.

"I thought alot about being engaged, and it's not something I can go halfsies on."

Haruto's heart gave a pang as he thought about what he was about to say next. He ignored it and continued.

"It's not fair to you if I keep hanging onto Shoko like this. It's not fair to Shoko either. You were right when you told me that a one-sided relationship with her couldn't last."

Rukino-san's brow creased, and she nodded silently.

_'I have to make a clean cut of it. If I keep going on like this I only hurt everyone more.'_

It hurt to think it, but he'd already decided that it was the right thing to do. He didn't deserve Shoko. He didn't deserve...

"I want to make it official. I'm going to announce our engagement to everybody. To the world. If it's okay with you?"

Rukino-san's eyes widened. She nodded briefly, and then suddenly turned away from him, her hands flying up to her face. Haruto reached out slowly towards her, unsure if he should initiate contact. His hand touched her shoulder, and she leaned towards his touch, placing one of her small hands over his.

Her fingers were moist.

_'Tears? She's crying?'_

Haruto drew Rukino-san towards him, nervously sliding an arm around her waist. He'd never really held a girl like this, not even Shoko. Rukino-san was soft and warm in his arms as she leaned back against him. The silky hair of her plait tickled his cheek and he smelled the delicate floral scent of her shampoo.

"Saki, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry, I-"

"Silly Haruto..." Rukino-san said softly. "I'm not crying. I'm just so happy."

"Oh." Haruto felt a little less nervous about holding Rukino-san in his arms. As he relaxed, he realized that despite it all, he actually enjoyed having his arms around her. That in turn made him feel even more guilty.

"There's one thing I need to ask, Saki."

"Yes?"

"I-I wanted to tell Shoko first. In private. I think she deserves to hear it from me and not from... you know. Can you wait for me while I...?"

Rukino-san stiffened a little in his arms, but didn't pull away. "I understand."

* * *

Shoko sighed as the ARUS representative and Marie left the Dean's Office, still chatting. She looked at her itinerary, then at the clock. Only 9:20.

_'So many more to go.'_

Negotiate for more food aid. Do that interview for that news program. Discuss security arrangements with Iori-san and L-Elf for the prisoners. Talk to the lunar utility companies again, see if she could get them to hook the module into the ARUS lunar grid sooner than the eight days they'd previously quoted to her. All before lunch. Oh, my!

Truthfully, Shoko hadn't really thought through being the Prime Minister of New JIOR back during the elections. She'd just wanted to support Haruto as best she could. The realities of the job were much heavier than she'd anticipated, and although she still thought sometimes about the promised Moon Festival, that campaign promise now seemed trivial and far away.

Luckily, none of her constituants seemed to mind that the Festival wasn't happening. Everyone's focus was on war and survival now. There was plenty of work to go around, and everyone was busy as bees, herself most of all.

Her schedule was packed full to brimming day after day. Sure, she could stand to delegate a little more, but that didn't feel right, dumping her responsibilities onto the shoulders of others. Shoko was committed to being the best Prime Minister she could be!

_'I have to do the best I can. For Haruto's sake! And for... for...'_

Shoko forced her thoughts onto another topic. She didn't mind the workload, really. It distracted her, kept her thoughts from lingering too much on her father. And she rather enjoyed knowing that her work was helping her fellow students toward a brighter and happier future.

She had to admit it was frustrating sometimes. The people from ARUS seemed to be on the level, but they were all exceptionally good at pushing their own agendas, and she was always painfully aware of how little leverage she had in negotiations. Couldn't exactly threaten to give the Valvraves to Dorssia at this point. All New JIOR seemed to have going for it was pity, charity, and luck. And although it never came up, the shadow of Senator Figaro always hung over the proceedings. If only-

The intercom chimed. Shoko pressed the button. "Yes?"

"Prime Minister Sashinami, Tokishima-san is here to see you." The voice of her secretary chirped.

"Kajishima-san, please call me Shoko! And please send him in! And uhm, if the representative for the Red Cross shows up, can you tell them my previous meeting is running a little long and I'll be with them in a moment?"

"Will do, Prime Minister Sashinami!"

The door opened.

"Haru! What's up?" Shoko's heart gave a little leap at the sight of Haruto standing there. Stress that she hadn't even realized she had drained from her. She had seen so little of him in the past few days!

Haruto looked unusually solemn as he walked into the room. "Hey, Shoko."

_'Why does he look so sad? Did he find out? There's no way he could have...?'_

"Would you like a drink?" Shoko offered, determined to keep things cheerful. "It's incredible, I can get anything I want delivered! Perks of being Prime Minister!"

"Huh?" Haruto looked surprised. "No, I'm-oh, what the heck, I'll have one."

"What'll you have? Ah, can I recommend the ARUS root beer? We just got some in with the first food shipment yesterday!"

"Sure." Haruto mulled it over a moment. "I don't think I've ever had root beer before."

"I didn't either until yesterday!" Shoko turned on the intercom and asked Kajishima-san to bring them a pair of root beers. Haruto standing was making her uncomfortable, so she circled her desk and pushed Haruto over to a chair at the side of the room. "Sit! Sit!"

Haruto sat obediantly and Shoko plopped herself down backwards in the chair in front of her desk, the one normally used by visitors. "How've you been, stranger? You really should drop by more often!" She gave him a smile to take any sting out of her words.

"I'm sorry... I've been sorta busy the last few days. Thinking... and stuff." Haruto mumbled.

"Hmm. Talked to Ham-Elf lately?"

Haruto giggled. "Ham-Elf?"

_'Ah-ha, he smiled!'_

"Mmm-hmm. Haven't seen him for a few days. Got a packet of instructions and that was it." Shoko laughed. "State secrets. I don't know if I'm supposed to commit it to memory and eat it or something."

"That sounds like L-Elf, trying to run everything behind the scenes."

"How about your Minister of Defense stuff? Did he give you a packet for that too?" As much as she dreaded the possibility, Shoko couldn't keep from trying to figure out if Haruto KNEW. "Or did he tell you anything, you know, secret?"

"He didn't, but..." Haruto scratched his head sheepishly. "He's already pretty much running the show there. He put together the Defense Force. And he commands all the sorties too."

"Oh. Right." Haruto really didn't seem to know about her father. Shoko fell silent. Somehow she hadn't quite realized how much L-Elf had insinuated himself into leading New JIOR. It wasn't a bad thing, per se. He WAS very capable, after all. But were his goals always going to align with theirs? What WAS he working toward, anyway?

Shoko's musing was interrupted by a chime at the door. Kajishima-san was there with their root beers in a pair of glasses. Shoko thanked Kajishima-san, took the root beers, and brought them over to Haruto. She settled back behind her desk.

Haruto sniffed at his drink. "It smells kinda funny."

Shoko grinned. "Doesn't it?"

Haruto took a sip. Made a face. "Ugh." He took a longer drink. "That's... really weird. It's way too sweet. And what's with that medicine-y taste?"

Shoko grinned wider. "That's anise, I think."

"Anise? Why?" Haruto took another drink. "Wow, that's nasty."

"I KNOW!" Shoko took a healthy swig of her root beer, making a disgusted face as shivers of revulsion raced down her spine. "Isn't it GREAT?"

"Shoko, you're so weird."

"Ehhhhhhhhh?" Shoko was shocked. How could Haruto say that?

"Don't tell me you actually like this stuff?"

"Why not? Billions of ARUS citizens love root beer!"

"I saw that face you made. You don't love it at all!"

"I'm loving how gross it is!"

"Like I said, you're weird!" Haruto took another drink. "It's still nasty, but it kinda grows on you."

"You see?" Shoko drained half her glass in a gulp. "Not so weird after all!"

She really had missed just shooting the breeze with Haruto. She'd been concerned that their relationship would somehow be changed by her being Prime Minister, but it looked like she'd worried for nothing.

_'Haruto's worried about something though.'_

"So... what's on your mind, Haruto? Maybe I can help. I AM the Prime Minister, after all!"

Haruto blinked as if he'd suddenly remembered something. He looked at her, down to his glass, gulped down the remaining root beer, and then stood up.

He was making THAT face.

"Haruto? What is it?" Shoko was suddenly afraid. Did he know about her father after all?

"Shoko, Rukino-san and I are engaged."

_'What?'_

The sentence that came out of Haruto's mouth was so out of place she couldn't process it. What did he mean? Haruto and Rukino-san?

"Engaged?" She repeatedly dumbly.

"Yeah. We're, uhm. We're gonna be married."

It still didn't make any sense? Haruto and Rukino-san? Did they even LIKE each other?

"You-you're kidding, right?" Shoko blurted out.

Haruto looked pained. "No, it's true. We really are getting married."

Haruto's face was doing something really weird. It was receding into the distance, getting smaller and smaller even as his blue eyes stayed the same size. The weird effect was making her dizzy. With an effort, Shoko tore her gaze away, looking down at her half-full glass of root beer.

He WAS serious. There was no way he wasn't, not when he had THE LOOK. Engaged to Rukino-san? Why? How?

Shoko felt her heart cracking open. Haruto was leaving her?

_'But... we promised we'd always be together. How can this be happening?'_

And she was going to confess to him too, when they got to the moon. Here they were, but things had turned out so differently from how she'd imagined.

_'And our promise? It was just a stupid promise made by a pair of stupid kids after all?'_

Had she ever stood a chance against Rukino-san? Rukino-san was an idol. Loved by millions. So pretty, and she could sing and dance. What did Shoko have that could compete against that? A large collection of novel t-shirts? Not to mention Rukino-san and Haruto were fellow pilots now, putting their lives on the line together. Of course mutual feelings would develop from something like that. Of course Haruto would fall for her.

"Shoko, I'm sorry..."

"N-no!" Shoko forced a smile to her face and looked back up at Haruto. "Don't be sorry! Oh, Haruto, this is wonderful!"

"Huh? But you were-"

"Ah, no no! I was just surprised, that's all! This is great news! I..."

She'd intended to say 'I'm so happy for you,' but the words stuck in her throat.

"...wish you both well." She said lamely.

"Thanks, Shoko!" Haruto said quickly. "We're still friends, right?"

"Why wouldn't we be?" Shoko couldn't keep the facade up for much longer. She made a show of glancing at the clock. "Waaaah! I'd love to chat some more with you, Haruto, but I've got a very important appointment coming up!"

"Ah, right!" It seemed like Haruto wanted to end the conversation as much as she did. He hopped up from his seat and retreated to the door. "I'll get going then. See you later, Shoko!"

"Laters, Haruto!" Shoko waved.

She waited a few moments, long enough to make sure Haruto had cleared the secretary's desk outside, and then pressed the intercom switch.

"Kajishima-san, would you please cancel all of my meetings for the day?"

"Eh? Prime Minister Sashinami? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just need to be alone for a while."

"Okay, what should I tell the functionaries?"

"I don't know! Tell them I'm sick or something!"

"Right, gotcha!"

Shoko folded her arms and rested her head on her desk. After a while, hot tears began to soak the sleeves of her suit.

She didn't know how long she cried for, but one thing kept coming back to her.

Haruto's face. He hadn't looked happy at all. Not one bit. It wasn't the kind of face a man should make when announcing his imminent marriage.

Was it just wishful thinking? Was she just trying to deny Haruto his happiness?

No, she knew Haruto too well. He wouldn't be making that sort of face for no reason.

Shoko sat up, wiping her eyes. There was something terribly wrong with Haruto's "engagement." And she was going to find out what it was.

* * *

Saki looked up from her seat on the front steps of the administration building as Haruto came out of the door.

"Hey, Haruto." She smiled widely at him.

"All done!" Haruto said brightly, smiling back at her.

"Right." Saki picked herself up and followed Haruto as he began to walk away from the admin building.

_'I wonder how it went...'_

Part of her had wanted to sneak into the admin building behind Haruto and eavesdrop on his conversation with Shoko-san... but she'd resisted the urge. It would have been a really dirty thing to do, agreeing to Haruto's request for privacy and then violating it.

All in all though, she'd barely been able to contain herself enough to wait calmly on the steps as it was. She wanted to dance! Sing at the top of her lungs! She reached out and took Haruto's hand as they walked. His fingers clasped around hers were smooth and warm. It felt so good!

"So, uhm... do you have anything you want to do about annoucing our engagement?" Haruto asked. "Like a press event or something? I don't know much about that kind of thing, so..."

"Me?" Saki pondered a moment. It'd be great for publicity, definitely. Rukino Saki, Songstress of JIOR, married to Tokishima Haruto, Hero of New JIOR? EVERYONE would be talking about it. Sure, there would be a little notoriety with how young they both were, and there was always the hardcore fringe of her fans who were obsessed with her PURITY, but that would make the news just that little bit more spicy, more likely to grab peoples' attention.

_'It's a neat idea... but it feels wrong somehow.'_

Just a few weeks ago she would have jumped at the chance to be in the spotlight. But now she didn't want it anymore. She wanted her marriage to be, well, hers and Haruto's. Not some kind of publicity stunt. Plus she didn't think Haruto would enjoy being held up to that kind of public scrutiny much, going by how he seemed confused than anything by his 700 million Wired friends.

"Nothing of the sort!"

"Eh? I thought for sure you'd...?" Haruto looked surprised. "What happened to getting famous?"

"There's plenty of other ways for that, I guess." Saki was just as surprised by her own admission. What happened to her drive to get ahead?

"What should we do then?"

"Hmm..." Saki thought for a moment. "The news will get out eventually, but we don't have to help it along. Let's just tell people here in the module, and if they want to tell other people, well, that'll be that."

"Alright." Haruto looked relieved. "If that's how you want to handle it."

_'Like... normal, non-famous people.'_

It felt oddly good. They walked on. A few passing students noticed them holding hands and stared, and Saki gave them big exaggerated waves. It took a while but she eventually noticed somethind odd as Haruto led her around the side of the school building.

"Hey, Haruto, where are we going?"

"Oh. I was going to ask you when we got there, but I might as well now." Haruto looked over at her. "So, uhm, now that we're engaged and all, would you, uhm..." His cheeks flushed red and he stopped walking to look down.

"What? What is it?"

"Uhm... Do you think- I mean, would you like to move in together?"

_'Wah?'_

"M-move in? Together?" Saki hadn't thought about that angle. Living together with Haruto? That seemed like it would be-

-Fun. It'd take some getting used to, but it'd bring them alot closer. Intimately, too. She'd been lucky enough to get a room to herself at Sakimori, and she'd been living on her own since Alice saved her from her parents' house. She enjoyed the independance, but sometimes it did get lonely.

"Are we moving into the boys' dorm then? Or the girls' dorm?" She wondered. Either one would feel kinda weird.

"Neither. We've got a room lined up in the faculty quarters." Haruto grinned.

"Nice. How'd you manage that?"

"I called in some favors." Seeing Saki's skeptical look, Haruto laughed. "Actually I just asked Kibukawa-sensei two days ago if we could move into one of the empty rooms. He said sure."

"Two days ago?" Saki was impressed. "You really planned this out, huh?"

"I had alot of time to think."

"So... Kibukawa-sensei knows? About us, I mean?"

"He agreed to keep it a secret." Haruto pulled out his phone and started to text one-handed. "Speaking of, I guess I should tell him he doesn't have to keep it a secret anymore."

Saki shifted her grasp on Haruto's free hand, sliding her arm around his and leaning into him as they walked. Haruto didn't seem to mind; he even gave her hand a little squeeze.

And that felt really, really good.

* * *

Mikhail walked down the row of jail cells, Yamada Raizo following behind.

The seven Dorssian captives taken during the battle were divided among the jailblock, two to a cell with at least one empty cell between them. The one exception was the cell at the end of the hall which only had one occupant.

And it was that cell they were headed toward.

The captives in the cells along the way watched him warily as he passed. It seemed they knew who he was. Good, that made them less likely to cause trouble before he could utilize them. He already had several possible scenarios in mind.

The sole occupant of the final cell looked up from his bunk as they approached. A lock of light purple hair obscured the left side of his face. His right eye burned with intensity as he stared at Mikhail.

"I was wondering when you'd come for me." A-Drei said.

"It HAS been a while." Mikhail admitted.

"Pretty nice accomodations you have here. Much better than what you would have gotten back on the _Obersturm_. My thanks." A-Drei inclined his head slightly so that his hair fell away from his face, revealing the scar and concave eyelid over the empty socket of his left eye.

Mikhail had confiscated A-Drei's glass eye upon his imprisonment, and it was a good thing he did: he'd found the hollow eye filled with a small amount of plastic explosive and a tiny detonator, enough to blast out the lock of the cell and allow A-Drei to escape.

"Do you still believe in our Revolution, A-Drei?"

A-Drei snorted. "You're asking that? Now? I haven't given up on you, L-Elf. You will still be my right hand."

"Do you trust me?"

"Trust?" A-Drei's hand went to the scarred left side of his face "I..."

Mikhail waited.

A-Drei's hand fell away, and he suddenly chuckled. "Alright, L-Elf. I trust you. What else can I do?"

Mikhail nodded to A-Drei, then punched the release code for the jail door into the wall panel. With a click, the gate unlocked. He stepped into A-Drei's cell, waving Yamada in after him.

"A-Drei, allow me to introduce you to the Kamitsuki."

Chapter 3 End

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to xchrispx and Christemo for beta reading! As well as IzanagiMikoto for letting me bounce ideas off him!**

**I hope my Shokoshoko is satisfactory. I found her POV very difficult to write, probably because she's so different from me. For those of you who were waiting for her reaction to the news, I hope you weren't disappointed!**

**For those of you Akira x Yamada fans, the ball is now rolling, although it'll take a little while to pick up speed. Here's to hoping I can successfully juggle two fully developed romantic relationships in the same story.**

**And for Haruto x Saki fans, I hope I've made up for what I did to you guys in the last chapter. Look forward to more making up (whatever that means in this context?) and maybe making of other things (no, not babies) in the next few chapters!**

**Hope you enjoyed reading and here's to seeing you in the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Cohabiting

They spent most of the afternoon moving in.

Some of Sakimori's faculty had opted to live off-campus in the city blocks surrounding the school and had commuted to work every day. Most, however, had lived in their own dorm, placed slightly off from the rest of the school buildings. All of the faculty save Kibukawa-sensei and Nanami-sensei had been taken by the Dorssians, so the teachers' dorm was now empty. Together Haruto and Rukino-san selected a room on the ground floor with a view of one of the bridges leading off from Sakimori Island.

They started with Haruto's room, "borrowing" a dolly and some empty boxes from the dock where ARUS ships were offloading supplies. Back at the boys' dorm, they parked the dolly outside Haruto's door and went in to pack up his stuff.

As they worked, Haruto was surprised at how little he actually owned. Summer and winter uniforms. Gym clothes. A few changes of casual clothes for the weekends. Laundry basket. Briefcase. Tablet. Laptop computer. Toothbrush and toothpaste. Shampoo. He scarcely owned more than the clothes on his back, it seemed.

Well, those and the ero-mags hidden under the mattress of his bunk. Not that Haruto thought he would ever look at those again. Just thinking about them brought on an unpleasant twinge of guilt. Might as well leave them behind and maybe someone else would find them.

"Hey, Haruto? You moving out?" A voice came from the open door.

Haruto looked. Peering in the doorway, his ever-present headphones around his neck, was Seiya-kun.

_'Rukino-san wanted to just tell people on the module... so... I guess this is it.'_

"Hey, Seiya-kun!" Haruto said, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. "Yea, I'm moving in with Saki. We're getting married!"

"You, what?"

"I'm moving in with Saki." Haruto repeated.

Seiya-kun's eyes were bulging out of their sockets as his gaze flicked from Haruto over to Rukino-san. "You-you're joking, right? This is a joke, right?"

"No joke, Seiya-kun! Haruto and I are engaged!" Rukino-san said.

"Ah... Ruki... Ruki... you..." Seiya-kun's eyes filled with tears. He suddenly bowed to them, then turned and ran, his voice trailing off as he sped down the hall. "CONGRATULATIOOOOOOOOOOOOOONS!"

Haruto winced. That didn't go nearly as well as he'd hoped.

Rukino-san sighed. "Didn't think he'd be that upset. I'll talk to him later."

"You know Seiya-kun?" Haruto was surprised.

_'I don't think I've ever seen them talking. Then again, she seems familiar with Otamaya-kun too... and what's with them calling her "Ruki?"'_

"Mmm-hmm. I see him every day when I go out with Carmilla." Rukino-san frowned. "Well, used to. But Carmilla's all busted up now."

"Don't worry, I'm sure Carmilla will be fixed in no time!" Haruto smiled reassuringly.

"Right. Thanks, Haruto." Rukino-san smiled back at him.

"Haruto? What's up?" Another voice sounded from the doorway.

Haruto looked towards the door. A small group of students were standing around, probably drawn by Seiya-kun's wail. He took a deep breath.

_'Here we go.'_

* * *

The other students they ran into didn't take it nearly as poorly as Seiya-kun. Some seemed confused, others straightforwardly congratulatory. But most started texting away on their phones immediately and Haruto had the feeling that despite what Rukino-san seemed to want, the entire world would know before the day was done. Still, they had some time.

After moving Haruto's stuff over to their new home, they headed over to the girls' dorm and started in on Rukino-san's belongings. She owned alot more outfits than Haruto, but Haruto noticed that even though it took longer to pack up Rukino-san's stuff, no one showed up to ask about their activity. In fact, only one girl poked her head in the door, took a long look at them, and left without saying a word.

_'Does Rukino-san really not have any friends at all?'_

When he thought about it, he'd only ever seen her with Aina-chan. Before the Valvrave Rukino-san had just been "Aina-chan's quiet friend" to him. He'd exchanged what, less a dozen words with her in total over the entire school year? But now...

Haruto watched as Rukino-san sat on the floor, happily folding clothes and putting them into a box. He had to admit he preferred this Rukino-san much more than the sullen one that just fiddled with her phone in the background.

_'She seems much happier now than she was back then... could I be happy like this too?'_

Haruto's thoughts continued in that vein as they headed back with all of Saki's possessions boxed up on the dolly. When they arrived at their new room they spent some time sorting out their belongings and settling in. By the time they were done, it was 16:40.

Rukino-san came out of the bathroom from where she was putting away a large number of brightly colored plastic bottles. "All done!" She chirped, holding up her hands in front of her eyes to make a picture frame as she surveyed the room. "It's so home-y, isn't it?"

Haruto followed her gaze and had to agree. The room was far larger than the student dorm rooms, and had its own bathroom and small kitchen area, as well as an offset sleeping area with a bed. There was a small living room area with a narrow couch (big enough for two) and the black bar of a holographic display along the top of the wall. The floor was carpeted with light beige. Essentially, they had their own apartment.

"There's just one problem..." Rukino-san said.

"What is it?"

Rukino-san pointed at the bed. It was a single, meant for one person. "There's only the one bed."

Haruto felt the blood rush to his face. For a moment he imagined Rukino-san curled up against him in the bed, her soft, warm body pressing against his... guilt overtook him again and he rushed to apologize.

"Ah! I didn't think about that! I'm sorry!"

"It's no problem!" Rukino-san waved him off. "It's just Kibukawa-sensei and Nanami-sensei living here, so we can just take a bed from another room, right?"

"Right!"

Luckily, the beds in the teachers' rooms were actual beds, with wooden frames and mattresses, instead of being metal frames bolted into the walls like in the student dorms. They managed to drag one back to their room and push it into position a few feet away from the first bed.

"Phew!" Rukino-san wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "Should we push them together? Or is that fine as is?"

"They-they're fine as is!" Haruto gulped. Sleeping together with Rukino-san in the same room was one thing, but he didn't think he could handle it if their beds were together.

_'But if we're going to be married, eventually we'll have to get closer, right? How do I...'_

It was a troubling thought, and not something he'd really considered before. He'd rushed into the idea of marriage without thinking through just what exactly would happen. Touching. Intimacy. The guilt wormed through his gut again. What to do?

"Haruto? Are you okay?"

Rukino-san was staring at him. With an effort, he forced a smile to his lips.

"I'm okay! Don't worry about me!"

"Huh." Rukino-san stared at him for a moment. "Have you eaten today, Haruto?"

Now that she mentioned it, he hadn't eaten since breakfast. "I AM kinda hungry." He admitted. "Let's go down to the cafeteria and get something." The prospect didn't really excite him. There were sure to be more students asking them about their marriage there, and he wasn't quite sure how prepared he really was for what he'd gotten into.

Rukino-san seemed to pick up on his hesitation. She looked over at the kitchen area. "Or I could make us something."

Haruto was torn. On the one hand, he was curious about Rukino-san's cooking. On the other...

_'I didn't decide to marry her just so she would cook for me!'_

"I can cook something!" Haruto said quickly.

"Hey! Don't look down on my cooking abilities just because I'm an idol!" Rukino-san huffed. "I'll have you know I cooked for myself for three years... well, when I wasn't touring."

"Huh? Your parents didn't cook? When you were at home, I mean?"

"Nah, I wasn't living with my parents by then."

Haruto did a quick calculation. Rukino-san would have been, what, 12 to 14 years old? Sure, she would have been on the road alot, but she wasn't living with her parents at all?

_'Then again, who am I to talk? It's not like I had the most normal home life either. But at least Dad would come home most days...'_

"Were you living with a relative? You weren't stuck by yourself, right?" Haruto asked.

"Yes, by myself. Anyway!" Rukino-san tossed her hair, her voice taking on an edge. "I don't wanna hear you question my cooking skills, Mister I-Can't-Make-A-Crepe!"

_'Looks like she doesn't want to talk about it anymore...'_

"That was 'cause I've never made crepes before! Normally I do better! I'll show you!" Haruto insisted.

"Alright..." Rukino-san pursed her lips. "I'd like to try... your napolitan."

_'Does she mean neopolitan?'_

"Na... what?" Haruto stammered. "You mean, like the ice cream?"

"No no, not NEOpolitan. NApolitan. It's Italian! ...I think. Napol... Naples? That's in Italy, right?"

"Sorry... never heard of it."

"Oh, is that how it is?" A smile crept over Rukino-san's lips. "It can't be helped then. I'll make it myself. Haruto, you can be my sous chef."

_'At least she's not cooking by herself.'_

"Got it!" Haruto nodded.

"We'll need some ingredients." Rukino-san put her finger on her chin in thought, a posture that Haruto found incredibly cute. "To the supermarket!"

* * *

Raizo grinned as the one-eyed Dorssian stared in horror at the video playing on the cell phone. Served him right.

"That's not me! I didn't do that!"

"You don't see anyone else dancing in that video, do ya, ya Dorssian bastard?" He taunted.

"You made me do this? You damned freak!" The Dorssian hissed at him.

Raizo was unfazed. Some people just didn't know a Dark Hero when they saw one. "I ain't no freak! I'm a Kamitsuki! Get it right!"

"All I see is a freak!"

"Maybe you should get your vision checked then, ya cyclops!"

The Dorssian looked about ready to rush him in anger. Raizo crossed his arms, daring the Dorssian to come at him.

_'This guy ain't no pushover, though. Gotta watch it.'_

From his brief time jacking the Dorssian's body, Raizo could tell that the guy was skilled. Way skilled. Much better than he himself was. But that was just fine, he wouldn't get any better unless he fought against stronger opponents. And he was itching to deck a Dorssian since the Dorssian bigwig's speech this morning.

L-Elf coughed. "My apologies for using this method, A-Drei. But it was necessary to demonstrate the Kamitsukis' abilities to you."

_'A-Drei, is it? What's up with these Dorssians and weird names?'_

A-Drei sighed. "You could have just had him make me say something, you know."

"Where would the fun be in that?" Raizo laughed.

A-Drei shot Raizo another glare, then looked back to L-Elf. "L-Elf, I... I'm sorry. I should have known you weren't the one who shot me. There's no way you would have done that."

L-Elf shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I would have come to the same conclusion as you given the circumstances." He put his hand into his pocket, withdrew a small object covered in tissue paper, and extended it towards A-Drei. "Here."

_'Is that how it is? Those two are old buddies?'_

Raizo watched the Dorssians a little closer. Yea, For sure. There was some history between the two.

A-Drei took the object and unwrapped it to reveal a purple glass eye. He hefted it in his hand, then looked thoughtfully at L-Elf.

"I left it in." L-Elf said. "It might be useful someday."

"Thanks." A-Drei smiled and carefully fitted the glass eye into its socket.

L-Elf nodded towards the cell's wall, in the direction of the other prisoners. "Are any of the others here loyal to the Royal family?"

A-Drei shot a glance towards Raizo, then shook his head. "No, they're all Colonel Cain's men. Even if any of them were Royalists, I wouldn't know."

"I see." L-Elf said. "Were you the one that persuaded them all to surrender?"

"Yes." A-Drei nodded. "When I saw the Colonel achieve the primary objective, I ordered my squad to surrender rather than go down fighting. I also..." His gaze locked onto L-Elf's eyes. "I also thought if I could get access to you I could talk you out of whatever craziness was going on, and we could go back home together. I never could have dreamed of these..." He glanced at Raizo again. "Kami... tsuki. L-Elf, you're not thinking of using them to...?"

"He ain't 'using' us." Raizo growled, his pride pricked. "We're helping him. And he's helping us. Mutual assistance, like."

"Yes." L-Elf said. "I calculated that with their HELP, our Revolution could be carried out within a few months rather than in three years like we originally planned."

A-Drei blew out a breath. "Alright, I will talk to my contacts and see what I can do."

"You'll have to keep a low profile." L-Elf said wryly. "You and the other prisoners aren't exactly popular on this Module."

"Understood."

"Hey, wait a minute. You're letting him out?" Raizo was outraged. "This here's one of the assholes that attacked the Module!"

"I also attacked the Module." L-Elf pointed out. "Yet we're working together now."

"You didn't use no poison gas!"

"Neither did A-Drei." L-Elf said reasonably. "The order to do that came from higher on the command chain."

"Wait. What poison gas?" A-Drei broke in.

Raizo scoffed. "What, don't try to pull one over me like you don't know!"

"I DON'T know. What poison gas?" A-Drei demanded.

"The drill that Colonel Cain attacked the Module with also dispersed nerve gas into the lower levels." L-Elf said. "Twenty-five students were killed by it."

"But... the New Guinea Agreement. How could Colonel Cain..." A-Drei mumbled.

"What, are you shocked?" Raizo pressed. "Ain't that normal for you Dorssians? Killing civilians?"

"No, it's not!" A-Drei looked genuinely troubled, his hands curling into fists, . "I'm sorry, uh..."

_'What's this guy's deal?'_

Raizo crossed his arms in front of his chest. "The name's Thunder."

"Thunder, I apologize for what my people have done to yours." A-Drei said awkwardly. "The truth is, Dorssia was not always like this. And stopping our government from pushing around weaker nations is one of the things we Royalists are trying to accomplish, so-"

"You can drop that crap right there." Raizo was getting pissed off now. "Actions speak louder than words, and I don't care if you're sorry for whatever. You're in the army, ain't you? That means you were helping push around those 'weaker nations.' You wanna help us now, fine. But don't give me no smarmy bullshit about BEING SORRY."

A-Drei's mouth set. "Fair enough."

"I take that to mean you have no further reservations about A-Drei joining forces with us, Yamada Raizo?" L-Elf said dryly.

"Hmph." Raizo glowered at L-Elf. "Whatever."

"Shall we go then?" L-Elf looked to A-Drei.

Raizo followed the Dorssians silently as they left the cellblock. He didn't quite like it that L-Elf was treating him like some kind of lackey. When the defector had come to him earlier and asked him to use his Jacking experience to help with a prisoner, he hadn't been sure what to expect. But whatever it was, he hadn't been thinking they'd be letting one of the Dorssians out of prison with a slap on the wrist.

_'But if this A-Drei dude can help us, then shouldn't we take him?'_

It hurt his pride to admit it, but Module 77 needed all the help they could get. Enough students were dead already.

Up ahead the two Dorssians were chatting it up, reminiscing about some old war stories in... Beirut? Wherever that was.

_'Yea, those two are definitely buddies. Bros.'_

The buddy-buddy antics of the two reminded Raizo of his own bros. Nobu. Tatsumaro. Kengo. The new ones, his fellow pilots. He didn't know them as well yet, but he was getting there. Haruto. Rukino. Kyuma. And now that Rainbow chick.

The Rainbow chick. Now there was a weird one. Normally Raizo would have said there was no way he could entrust his life to someone who never showed their face, but actions did speak louder than words, and she'd been the one to haul his ass out of the fire. Literally. So he really couldn't hold her hiding in her Valvrave against her.

_'Renbokoji's little sister, huh... Wonder what she looks like. Cute voice, at least. Kinda squeaky.'_

The student council president had blond hair, so Rainbow was probably blonde. And probably tall, too. Renbokoji was tall. Dressed all prim and proper? Maybe.

Suddenly, Raizo's hazy mental picture of Rainbow popped into focus-in his mind's eye he saw an image of Renbokoji Satomi in a long blonde wig, dressed in a girl's uniform, his hairy man-legs displayed proudly.

"WAUGGH!" Raizo shuddered and stopped in his tracks, shaking his head to clear away the horror.

"Yamada Raizo. Are you all right?" L-Elf turned back to look at him.

Raizo didn't like how L-Elf was staring at him. Almost as if the Dorssian was sizing him up... Not aggressive like, more like he was expecting Raizo to come at him. What the hell?

"Yea, I'm fine."

L-Elf nodded and turned away, Raizo following, a scowl appearing on his face. He'd have to keep an eye on this A-Drei guy.

* * *

"Aaaaaaggggghhhhh." Haruto half-screamed.

"Eeee!" Saki nearly dropped the spoon she was using to stir her pot of noodles. "Haruto! What happened?"

Haruto was blinking rapidly, his hands curled into claws near his face. "I! I rubbed my eyes!"

Saki looked at the half sliced pile of onion on the cutting board in front of Haruto. "Don't rub your eyes with onion juice on your fingers!"

"I couldn't help it! It was a reflex!" Haruto wailed.

"Rescue towel on the way!" Saki grabbed a clean dishrag off the wall rack, ran it under the faucet, and stepped over to the counter near Haruto. "Here, lemmie see."

"I got it." Haruto took the dishrag from her and wiped his eyes. "Thanks, Saki."

 _'Aww. I wanted to wipe his eyes.'_ Saki was a little disappointed she didn't get to mother Haruto a little.

"You okay?" She decided to tease him a bit. "You sure you can handle that onion?"

Haruto shot her a defensive look as he put the dishrag down. "I got it! It's just been a while since I chopped an onion, that's all!"

"Just making sure!" Saki said lightly, turning back to her pot.

The sounds of knife slicing through vegetables and meat continued for a while behind her.

"Done!" Haruto went over to the sink to wash his hands.

"Great!" Saki looked over to where the chopped onion, green pepper, mushrooms, and meat sat in neat piles on the cutting board. "Switch jobs! You watch the pasta and I'll start on this stuff."

Haruto sidled over to the pot as Saki ladled some cooking oil into a pan, waited for it to heat, and then started to scoop the sliced ingrediants in. The meat and vegetables sizzled as they hit the hot oil.

"I think the noodles are about done." Haruto said, trying one. "Yup, they're done."

Saki pushed the meat and vegetables around the pan. Added a sprinkle of salt. "Okay, go ahead and drain it."

"Gotcha." Haruto picked up the pot of boiling water and noodles with a dishrag and started to edge around her on his way to the sink. As he passed behind her, his hip brushed lightly against her rear, and Saki felt him jerk away.

_'Oh crap, the water!'_

She whirled around, expecting the worst, but Haruto was balancing the pot carefully, the liquid inside sloshing like mad but not slopping over the edges. "Haruto! Are you okay? Did it get on you?"

"I'm okay!" Haruto said quickly. "Sorry, I, uhm, I'll be more careful!" He gingerly made his way to the sink and started to pour off the water in the pot.

Saki turned her attention back to the pan. Haruto's clear dislike of touching her was starting to bother her, although she was determined not to show it. It seemed like as long as he could prepare for it, he was fine, but if the contact came suddenly he recoiled.

_'Does he find me repulsive? Because of what happened?'_

Then again, she thought with some relief, he HAD shoved her away the first time she glomped him. So maybe it wasn't that. Hopefully.

_'He just doesn't find me attractive?'_

The idea was absurd. Saki KNEW she was pretty. As much as she hated it, she took after her mother. And there was her whole idol career which had hinged at least in part on her looks.

_'But what if Haruto doesn't see it that way...?'_

"So, uhm, Saki. Where did you learn to make this?" Haruto's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Here and there." Saki said. "I had it all over the place, back in the Homeland and on the Sphere. Eventually I put together my own recipe from stuff online and what I liked."

"Ah."

Saki eyed the contents of the pan carefully. The veggies were getting soft and the meat was nice and browned. "Okay, Haruto, noodles in the pan!"

Haruto levered the noodles into the pan with a pair of chopsticks. Saki added a healthy glop of ketchup, pepper, another sprinkle of salt, and stirred. "Do you want your napolitan spicy, Haruto?"

"Yes, please!" Haruto smiled broadly.

Saki reached for a bottle of hot sauce, then had second thoughts. She scooped half of the finished pasta onto a plate and added hot sauce to the portion still in the pan. "No hot sauce for me, gotta watch my complexion." She plated the spicy pasta.

Haruto was rummaging in a drawer. "I got the chopsticks."

Saki set the plates on the table. "No no, we need forks to eat napolitan! It's more au-then-tic!"

Haruto came over with their forks, and they sat down facing each other over plates of pasta. ""Itadakimasu!""

Saki watched as Haruto put a forkful of pasta into his mouth. His brow creased and his blue eyes slid to the side as he chewed carefully, his cheek swelling out a little. Ah, he was just too cute!

_'I could watch him eating all day...'_

"So... how is it?" She asked.

"Hmmm..." Haruto swallowed. "I like it! Didn't know ketchup went so well with noodles. I usually put it on eggs." He took another bite. "The veggies are good too."

_'Success!'_

Saki smiled and dug into her own napolitan.

* * *

Saki pulled the dripping towel away from her face and looked in the mirror. Her skin was perfectly clear, not a single blemish in sight. Flawless skin was a perk of being a Kamitsuki she was rapidly coming to take for granted, although it never hurt to check for acne, just in case.

Back in the "bedroom," if the sleeping area could be called that, Haruto had changed into a t-shirt and shorts and was arranging his pillow on one of the beds. He looked up as Saki left the bathroom. "All done?"

"Not quite." Saki carefully put her ribbon down on top of table, went over to her drawers, and pulled out the soft shirt and shorts she wore to bed. She looked towards the bathroom again, then had other ideas.

_'Let's tease Haruto a little... and make sure about something, too.'_

"Ha-ru-to~" She said, drawing his name out. "It's cold in the bathroom, so I'm gonna change out here, okay~?"

"Eh?" Haruto backed up a step, his face going red. "Wait, Ruk- I mean, Saki, hang on!"

_'Ah, he's so cute!'_

Saki started to undo the buttons on her shirt collar. "But I don't wanna wait! I wanna get comfy!"

"Just h-hang on! I can wait in the bathroom!" Haruto stammered, his face getting even redder as he waved his hands in front of him.

Saki caught Haruto's eyes darting to her upper chest, even as he backed away.

_'So he IS still attracted.'_

It was a relief to know that Haruto wasn't repulsed by her. He was just apparently bad with girls. Saki decided that she should probably back off a little. She let her hands drop from her collar. "I have an idea, Haruto. I can change here under the blankets, and you don't have to go wait in the bathroom, okay?"

"No, it's okay, I don't mind!" Now that the immediate threat of her nudity was gone, Haruto hurried around her towards the bathroom door.

"It's cold in the bathroom. Hey, wait!"

But Haruto had already disappeared into the bathroom. Saki stared at the closed door in disappointment.

_'Pushed too hard, did I?'_

Feeling guilty that she'd chased Haruto away, Saki quickly changed into her nighties.

"All done!" She announced. "Haruto? You can come back in now."

The bathroom door opened a crack and Haruto's voice came out of it. "It's okay to come back in?"

"Mmm-hmm!"

Haruto came back into the room, edging around her bed gingerly on the way to his own. "So, uhm, lights off now? Or do you want to do something first?"

"Do something? What do you mean by that, Ha-ru-to~?" Saki deliberately touched her fingers to her lips.

"No-no! I just meant, like, like, if you wanted to surf the web, or read some, or talk! That was all!" Haruto said in alarm.

_'Talk some, huh?'_

Saki thought about it. Honestly though, it had been a pretty big day and she was kinda tired. There'd be plenty of time to talk about things with Haruto, right?

"Just sleeping's fine."

"Ah, okay..." Haruto crossed the room, clicked off the lights, then came back to lay down on his own bed. He pulled his blanket over himself. "Sorry, I'm just kinda nervous. I've never slept with a girl before..."

"Oh, really...?"

"AGH! No! With a girl in the same room, I mean!" Haruto squawked. "Well, other than Shoko... But only when we were little kids!"

It was the first time since Haruto had left Shoko's office that Shoko had come up between them. Saki wasn't quite sure how to treat the subject. She decided to settle for diplomatic.

"Lucky Shoko."

There was a long silence, before Haruto's voice spoke out of the darkness.

"Thanks."

Saki lay back and closed her eyes. It had been a big day, but pretty much all good. Annoying Dorssian speech aside, she'd moved in with the boy she loved, and those weird attacks she'd been suffering seemed to have become a thing of the past. Things were going great.

Now, if only she could get a good's night sleep without any bad dreams.

* * *

As a general rule, Soichi hated having his work interrupted.

It was such a waste of his time! His productivity! His genius!

Was it any wonder then that he resented his captors, the ones responsible for the greatest and still ongoing interruption of his entire career?

Some of his coworkers hated their captors because they were a foreign power, but that wasn't the reason for his own resentment. Soichi may have been born a JIORan, but he didn't feel any particular loyalty to his country of birth. His work transcended such small-minded concepts like nationality, anyway. Too bad his peers were too small-minded to see the bigger picture. No, no. Patriotism wasn't the issue.

Oh sure, the Dorssians had provided him with an excellent working environment. Funding wasn't a problem: all he had to do was fill in the proper requisition forms and a few days later, whatever equipment or supplies he wanted was delivered. And there was no annoying bureaucracy to go through to approve experimental procedures, no need to worry about the legal or moral aspects of his research.

But these things weren't nearly enough to compensate him for his losses. Twenty-three years! Over two decades of work, almost half his life! Straight down the drain! And the boy, his pride, lost to him!

And so he resented them. Sure, the progress lost could be recovered, but it was the principle of the thing! Soichi had his pride as a scientist, after all.

There were caveats. There was no way for work such as theirs to be conducted in complete isolation. The scientists needed access to online gene databases, and so their captors had been forced to provide them with internet access-of course there were strict safeguards on their network to limit them to a handful of sites. But how were the Dorssians to know that Kitagawa-san on the sequencing team had a background as a programmer of military-grade networks and could evade their security?

And so he, as well as the other JIORan staff members, knew things. Things the Dorssians wanted to keep from them. He knew that the Dorssians still had not captured Module 77. He knew that their soldiers had been repeatedly repelled by the Valvraves.

_'In retrospect, weaponizing them wasn't such a bad thing after all, eh? Looks like those military types still have their uses.'_

Most importantly of all, Soichi knew that Haruto, his crowning accomplishment, had achieved his full potential. Was it any wonder his son had risen to the prominence he had achieved on the world stage?

_'As befits his status as the first of a new race. Ah, it's enough to bring a tear to this proud father's eye!'_

But the current situation couldn't last. Soichi had no illusions about that. Although he'd never really kept up to date on international affairs, even he knew the power of the Dorssian military wasn't to be trifled with. They would overwhelm the Module eventually. And his son was largely untaught, unfamiliar with his new existence. He had to find a way to bring the boy to him, to instruct him. To guide him.

And to do that, he needed the Dorssians.

And once the boy was at his side, well. The future was full of possibilities, wasn't it?

The console in front of him beeped, calling for his attention. The future had to wait; first, this video conference.

Soichi pushed the accept call button. Not that he really wanted to, but he didn't have much of a choice when his captors demanded he attend a video conference, did he?

The board in front of him flashed green, indicating he was connected. But no image appeared on the holographic display in front of him. Instead, it displayed a rectangular black field with a four-leafed clover and the words "Audio Only."

_'Figures. They don't want me taking a look at the backers in this "council" of theirs, huh?'_

Soichi kept himself from rolling his eyes, acutely aware of the small black holes of the cameras watching him from the sides of the room. He'd already figured out that his captors weren't any legitimate branch of the Dorssian government or military. They were some kind of fancy secret society, judging by how they referred to themselves in their communiques. Not that Dorssian internal politics meant anything to a scientist like him, of course.

"Good morning, Professor." A smooth voice spoke over the connection.

"Good morning!" Soichi said cheerfully. It was always good to affect a pleasant attitude with the money men. "How are you gentlemen and women today?"

"Just fine, thank you for asking." The voice replied. "We've called you today to address the Council regarding the VVV Project subjects."

"Of course. What is it you wanted to know?"

"An overview of the subjects' superhuman capabilities will do for now, Professor." A different voice said. "What exactly are they capable of?"

Soichi fought to keep from rolling his eyes again. JIOR or Dorssia, government payroll or secret society, it seemed money men were the same everywhere. He'd covered that topic and more in the report he'd written for them when he'd first been captured, but it seemed the fools hadn't even bothered to read it.

Just as well. He never got tired of talking about his work, after all.

"Let's see... to begin with, we activated the latent Novus subjects in two iterations over the past eight years, with a third iteration being prepared but never actually tested prior to the... ahem, takeover. The capabilities of the subjects then differ depending on which iteration they belong to.

"The first iteration was activated when the first batch of subjects were nine years of age, one male and one female. Now, at the time we didn't have the field units, so there was no way we could predict the changes in the subjects' physiology as a side effect of the Rune copying and manipulation. Although in hindsight, of course, it should have been obvious.

"It was only after a freak lab accident that we understood the full implications of the Tokishima-Kurosawa Rune Mirroring Process... that's named for me, you know. Both the activated subjects sustained severe injuries during the accident. The female subject was killed immediately, and the male died of his wounds several days later. However, despite the physiological deaths their bodies suffered, and the resultant destruction of living brain tissue, their consciousness was preserved due to being mirrored from within the Rave Engines. They were fully capable of cognition and communication... Well, what communication they were capable of with their reduced sensory and motor capacities. The female subject had significant problems in this regard. She was missing half her head, after all!"

Soichi was grinning widely as he relived those halcyon days. To think, subject A0595 had remained capable of such high cognitive functions after such severe damage. It had been an incredible moment of discovery. And oh, the implications!

"Unfortunately, we were incapable of repairing the damage to the subjects' bodies... or of halting their... uhm, ongoing physical deterioration. My colleagues were of the opinion that their continued animation was causing them severe distress. I objected strenously, of course, but in the end I was overruled by the "ethics" committee, and the subjects were destroyed via incineration of their remaining body mass and purging of their Runes from the Rave Engines. It was such a shame that there was nothing left."

"The second iteration was activated when the first batch of subjects were eleven years of age, again one male and one female. The second activation mix contained various improvements from the one used for the first iteration. By using the Runes mirrored in the Rave Engines as a template, it was possible to create a system wherein the subjects' bodies could be reconstituted using Runic energy in the event of injury. This had the side effect of stopping the aging process as well, effectively rendering the subjects immortal!"

Soichi's grin fell a little as he recalled the spectacular failure which had occured after that.

"As it turned out, the second iteration was deeply flawed in other ways. During the first test of the field units, a year and a half ago, both subjects displayed severe Rune leakage. The male subject was killed, and the female suffered complete amnesia as a result of Rune depletion and was rendered useless. Following her recovery she was then rehabilitated into the high school setting, where I was told she had integrated well.

"After that, we prepared a third activation mix. Some of my colleagues were concerned that it caused iteration two subjects psychological trauma to remain conscious despite severe injury, so the third mix included a system where the mirrored consciousness would be switched "off" in the event of severe physiological damage. What this means in practical terms is that if the subject suffers injury which should kill or severely disfigure their bodies, they are rendered unconscious until the damage is repaired. Of course, the rune leakage present in iteration two was also addressed.

"The iteration three mix was scheduled to be tested sometimes later this year. Ideally it would have been used as the final production model of Novus... but since we've never seen it in effect we can't rule out the possibility of additional quirks."

_'Of course, I know that iteration three HAS been tested, and it's performing better than I had ever dreamed!'_

"And are you capable of producing more of the... activation mix, as you call it, here in our facilities?" The second voice asked.

"It would theoretically be possible, although with no definitive formulas, we can't gurantee its effectiveness." Soichi said. "And the activation mix is completely useless with no latent Novus specimens to use it on..."

"Would it be possible to convert adult humans into Novus specimens using genetic and Rune manipulation?" A third voice asked.

Soichi sighed. Why did these fools never think their questions through? If it was possible, JIOR would have done it already, wouldn't they? "No. The conversion process must be performed in vitro, at the zygote stage of development. It is not possible to transform an existing adult Homo sapiens into a Homo sapiens novus."

Although, he reflected, there were certainly ways around that technicality, as his own work showed...

"How long will it take you to reproduce the work you did in JIOR here?" The second voice again.

Soichi could figure out what the voice was hinting at. "You mean, how long will it take to produce new Novus subjects from scratch?"

"Yes."

_'Captured a Valvrave unit, have they? But found out they couldn't use it the hard way?'_

He schooled his features to impassiveness, and told his first lie.

"Eight years."

"That long?" The third voice came on, sounding annoyed. "We were under the impression that the VVV Project was in maturity and was entering its mass production phase... How could it take eight more years for you to replicate your work?"

Soichi allowed a hint of bitterness to creep into his voice. "Our computer systems in the JIOR lab were designed to purge all data related to the project if the proper safeguards weren't followed. During the takeover, the soldiers attempted to access the system without the proper authorization, and as a result all the data was dumped. We're working strictly off our memories here; the first time it took over fifteen years to create the first Novus subjects... although that was before I became project leader. Eight years is a significant improvement."

That was another lie, of course. Soichi had an excellent memory, and could recreate his work almost in its entirety from what he could remember. In reality, it would take him no more than four months to create new Novus subjects. Of course, it would still be a long way from a modified zygote to a mature specimen, ready for activation.

"Eight years is too long." A new voice came on. "Perhaps one of your colleagues should be assigned to project director instead of you; maybe they could get the work done faster."

"Perhaps." Soichi crossed his arms. "Or perhaps not. I was project director for the last twenty years. There is no one on the project team more dedicated or knowledgeable than me. You could give the project to one of your domestic researchers, of course, but it would take them years to simply become familiar with the subject. Eight years is the absolute minimum."

He wasn't afraid of calling this council's bluff. And bluff it was. Everyone on the call knew it. Over the years there had been all those complaints from those mincing JIORan officials about his ethics and morals. The buffoons had even threatened him with jail time once! But in the end they'd been forced to keep him on. Just as these Dorssians would be forced to as well.

The reason, of course, was that Tokishima Soichi was a genius.

_'My genius makes me indispensible to the VVV Project. Everything around here only exists because of me.'_

The voices on the other end of line the were silent. Probably sitting there with their finger on the mute button, trying to figure out how to capitulate gracefully. It was time to give them a way.

"There might be a way that the work could be accelerated..." He said slowly into the silence, as if the idea were just occuring to him. "If you could bring me some test subjects, some currently existing latent Novus, I could reverse engineer them. It would be even better if you could acquire an activated subject, should one exist."

The silence on the other end of the call continued for a few moments. Then the first voice, the one that had opened the call, spoke up.

"How long will it take to complete the work if you had such test subjects, Professor?"

Soichi looked up briefly, as if in thought. "Half a year to a year, perhaps? No more than a year."

There was another silence.

The first voice spoke again after a long while. "Thank you for your time, Professor. We'll take your input into consideration."

* * *

Chamca ended the call. For a moment, the only sound in the Council chamber was the gurgle of rushing water from the falls outside.

"This changes nothing!" Tinaguna spoke up again, the long white beard of his aged host body bouncing against his chest as he gestulated angrily with his hands. "Will you all be so blinded by the prospect of immortal bodies to ignore the obvious threat? I said it before: The creatures on that Module are too similar to us; should they be exposed, it'll only be a small step from there to US! We must eradicate them for our own safety!"

There was a rustle around the Council at Tinaguna's words. Chamca was pleased to see that there seemed to be far more dissent than before Tokishima's testimony. Tinaguna was a powerful member of the council, in charge of the Arctic Phantom fleet and their resupply bases. But the support for his viewpoint was eroding.

"Why should we go out of our way to destroy a valuable resource?" Dosi challenged from the outer ring, crossing his muscular arms over his chest. His current host body was an Olympic champion of some kind. An Australian, Chamba believed. It was impressive to look at, but wielded very little in terms of political power. Dosi had acquired it shortly after the takeover of JIOR in a testament to his vanity. "We are Magius; the humans exist only to serve us as chattel. Inferior creatures like them aren't a threat and never will be. All we have to do is reach out and claim what they've created in their own greed for ourselves!"

Words of agreement sounded from all around the chamber. Tinaguna's eyes darted around the room, a scowl appearing on his face and his ruddy wind-chapped features growing even redder. A few of his followers began to shout back at Dosi.

"Not just immortal." from the center of the room, Vicereine Daitya's cold voice sliced through the tumult, averice burning in her host body's dark eyes. "ETERNAL. Bodies which never age, and CANNOT BE KILLED. Imagine the influence we could wield. No more of this discontinuity between hosts. No more having to transfer power through our hosts' descendants. We will no longer be bound by these humans' fleeting lives. We will finally have suitable bodies, fitting vessels for our majesty."

"With all due respect, my Vicereine..." Tinaguna lowered his voice as he addressed Daitya. "The purpose of this Council above all else was to ensure the secrecy of the Magius, that we could continue to operate hidden from the eyes of humans. This entire debacle resulted from the humans capturing two of our kind. Can we really risk the consequences of further exposure?"

Daitya's lips curled up a smile. "Consider this consequence, Tinaguna. Our secrecy was a result of necessity, an acknowledgement of the numerical superiority of the humans. It would have been impossible to force them to acknowledge our dominion in ages past. There have always been too few of us, too bound by our hosts' wretched mortality to risk open confrontation. But now the humans have given us what we have sought for centuries. A means to openly enforce our domination. With these unaging, eternal bodies, what human agency could oppose us?"

Daitya looked over the chamber slowly. Even Chamca felt a chill as her glittering eyes raked over him among the gathered ranks of Magius. "The time has finally come to rid ourselves of this chafing SECRECY. No longer will we be forced to skulk in the shadows; we will walk openly among the humans, and they shall rightfully acknowledge us as their masters."

Tinaguna scowled and looked away. Chamca saw that he was unswayed despite the Vicereine's words. There were those who had become so hidebound by their centuries of enforced secrecy that they couldn't comprehend a change in their circumstances.

_'No. Rather, they are afraid of such change.'_

The rest was more argument and posturing. Chamca waited patiently, sitting out the storm of words. He himself was of the opinion that the imitations represented a threat, but not enough of one which demanded eradication. Rather, it would be more logical for the Magius to make what use of the imitations as they could.

And since the Vicereine herself seemed to agree with his viewpoint, there was no need for him to interject into the discussion.

"This bickering achieves nothing. Let us vote." A familiar voice said. Chamca looked to the side of the room, where the holographic display showed the shimmering figures of the dozen or so council members who could not physically be at the meeting. Towering over them all was the figure of Mirko, inhabiting the body of Amadeus, dressed in his full regalia. It amused him to see many of the Council with Dorssian hosts snap to attention, the action ingrained into their bodies at the sight of their Chancellor.

 _'Myself as well...'_ He noted the sharp, military set of his own host's shoulders wryly. ' _In the end, the humans still have a greater influence on us than we'd like to admit.'_

* * *

The voting passed without incident, and Chamca looked over the final tally: 64 for exploiting the imitations, 28 for their destruction, and 9 who abstained from voting. Wonderful.

_'Those 9 abstainees... those who wanted to integrate the imitations into the Council again?'_

He eyed the holographic display. Yes, there was Alo, her host body looking demure as ever, eyes downcast with her pink hair trailing over her shoulders. Unlike Mirko, who was dressed as if attending a function of state, her host body was clad in a simple pink dress, the only clue to her human social standing the diadem shining from her forehead.

Although Chamca did not approve, even in disgrace and isolation, Alo was still a member of the Council. When the issue of the imitations first came to light, she had been the loudest to argue that artificial or not, they be accorded full rights as Magius and brought into the fold-although she'd clammed up quickly once popular opinion turned against her.

_'Still, for 9 members to abstain from the vote in protest. Nearly 10% of the Council...'_

"It seems this Council has agreed on a course of action." Daitya said. "We will move ahead with our exploitation of the so-called Homo sapiens Novus. Let us begin to lay plans toward this end." She gestured with one hand. "Chamca. You have served us well in striking a blow against the Module and capturing one of the Valvrave units. I would like for you to engineer our next action against the Module as well."

"Thank you, Vicereine. It will be my pleasure to do so." Chamca rose from his seat. "In fact, I already have set plans in motion for this very purpose. I merely need the assistence of a few other members of the Council to carry them out fully."

"This Council is at your disposal," Daitya inclined her head. "Since we already have the Valvrave unit on hand to study, we no longer need the other units. You are hereby authorized to destroy them."

"There is no need for that." Chamca said. "Despite what many believe, the Valvraves are not the key factor in this situation."

"Oh? I seem to recall the Dorssian military being defeated multiple times by them," Tinaguna called out.

"Nevertheless, the Valvraves are not the lynchpin in the imitations' defense. That would be Module 77 itself."

"Huh? What do you mean?" A scowl spread across Tinaguna's broad face.

"The Valvraves have always been used in the defense of the Module," Chamca explained. "But they are dependant on the Module for resupply and repairs. In addition, all the imitations' claims to sovereignty rests on their control of the Module."

Tinaguna fingered his beard, his scowl slowly replaced by a crafty smile. "So you mean to destroy the Module then?"

"Not necessarily. It will be enough to simply dispossess them of it. Once they are off the Module we can use our political influence within ARUS to make sure they never get back on. Without the Module they're no different from any other JIORan refugee group. They can then be dispersed among other JIORan refugees within ARUS, and harvested at our leisure-to give to the Professor as research subjects, or for activation as host bodies. Whatever we wish."

"Hrumph." Tinaguna made an old man sound. "Sounds like a rather delicate operation. I'd like to know how you're going to pull this off when Dorssian and ARUS military forces aren't allowed within the neutral zone."

"I plan to make use of a third party, of course." Chamca turned to another member of the inner ring. "Kichuksana, I need to engage the use of one of your Phantoms." Kichuksana was in charge of the Middle Eastern Phantom fleet, and his host body was a high-ranking Dorssian commander, in charge of the region's security forces. Luckily, he belonged to the faction which wanted to exploit the imitations, so his cooperation was guranteed.

The short olive-skinned man with the strong chin nodded. "Certainly."

Chamca tapped the console built into his desk. "I'm sending you a list of aquisitions I'd like for you to make. As well as delivery instructions."

Kichuksana looked at his desk display for a moment, his host body's eyes widening in shock. "These... four names. You want them ALL? I don't think that..."

"Any one of the four will do," Chamca said. "I included all of them just in case."

"I see." Kichuksana rubbed his chin. "And these others? Do you need them to belong to any particular... uh... affliations?"

"Anyone will do, so long as they're Pashto."

"Hm. Should be easy enough." Kichuksana mumbled. "Phantom T-342C is operating out of the Logar River. It can depopulate one of the small villages in the Logar Valley area. I assume you don't have any particular use for anyone we harvest other than the young adult males?"

"You can keep the others."

"Very well. Phantom T-342C will collect your acquisitions and rendevous with you at your meeting point in three days."

"Thank you, Kichuksana."

Chamca looked towards the holographic display, to the image of an elderly man in a business suit. "Parnja, I have need of your shipyard facilities."

"Anything you need, Chamca." Parnja's host was a business mogul, in control of many commercial space development interests throughout ARUS.

"I need berthing space for 38 ARUS Splicers, to have an operating system wipe and be refitted to my specifications. I will provide the ships in four days, but I need you to cover any additional spare parts."

"Very well. When will you require this work done by...?"

"Eight days from now."

Parnja sucked in his breath through his teeth. "Which gives me four days, huh? You know, Chamca, I can't make any promises until I see a list of these refits you want..."

"Understood." Chamca nodded. "I'll send you a full list after the meeting. Will that be satisfactory?"

"Quite."

Chamca smiled. Everything was going according to plan.

Chapter 4 End

* * *

************ OMAKE ************

*****RUKI'S CORNER*****

*****RUKI'S HAPPY LUCKY NAPOLITAN*****

Hi, everyone! Rukino Saki here, and today we're gonna make Napolitan!

What is Napolitan, you ask? It's a super-yummy noodle dish originally from Italy! We here in JIOR have put our own spin on it, and it's become an old favorite all around the Homeland and the Sphere! Readers from ARUS may find it a little different from what you're used to, but give it a try and you'll see it's really tasty!

Here's what you'll need to make Napolitan:

*****INGREDIENTS*****

THE NOODLES

200g (about 7 ounces) of noodles. I like udon myself, because it's softer, but if harder noodles are your thing you can use spaghetti. Really, any wheat flour noodle will do so long as it's not something funny like macaroni.

THE VEGGIES

1/2 bell pepper. Whatever color. I'm partial to green myself these days. You can all probably guess why!

1 onion.

60g (about 3 ounces) of mushrooms. White button mushrooms are best, but you can substitute whatever mushroom is your favorite. If you want to use dried mushrooms you'll have to soak them beforehand.

2-3 cloves of garlic.

THE MEAT

100g (about 4 ounces) of bacon, ham, or sausage. I think bacon works best here. It's so tasty and the fat that cooks out of it is great. Sausage is also good but only second best, and ham, well. Ham is a little harder to play with. Sometimes it dries out when cooking and then it gets a little tough and weird. If you're watching your weight but still want that meaty goodness, you can add 80g (about 1/3 cup) of chicken stock instead of meat.

THE EXTRAS 

80g (about 1/3 cup) of ketchup. The ketchup is essential!

Soysauce

Cooking Oil. Whichever kind you like. Me, I like BUTTER!

Salt and pepper.

THE HELPER

1 Helper. It's always nice to have someone to slice the onion. Today helping me out in the kitchen is Tokishima Haruto, The Boy Who Fought The World. But he doesn't just fight Dorssians, he also cooks! He's also our taste-tester because as crazy as it sounds, Haruto's never had Napolitan before!

Let's get to it!

*****PROCEDURE*****

Boil your noodles. Add a pinch of salt to the water to give your noodles a little flavor. If you're using spaghetti and you want firmer noodles, you should cook them until just before al dente. If you're using udon and want softer noodles, go ahead and cook them normally. Drain your noodles as soon as they're done.

While the noodles are boiling, have your helper slice the veggies and the meat into thin slices. And also mince the garlic.

Put a little cooking oil in a large pan. Depending on what meat you're using, the next step will be a little different:

BACON: You can use a little less cooking oil here, because fat will render out of the bacon. Put the bacon in first and cook it on medium heat until fat renders out and the meat turn brown, then add the sliced veggies. There's no need to add salt here because there's plenty in the bacon. Cook on low to medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onions soften and turn translucent.

SAUSAGE: Put the sausage and the sliced veggies in the pan at the same time, and add a little salt to pull water out of the veggies. Cook on low to medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onions soften and turn translucent.

HAM: Put the sliced veggies in the pan, and add a little salt to pull water out of the veggies. Cook on low to medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onions soften and turn translucent. Once the vegetables have softened, add the ham. It gets overcooked and hard easily, so that's why we're adding it last.

CHICKEN STOCK: Put the sliced veggies in the pan, and add a little salt to pull water out of the veggies. Cook on low to medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onions soften, but are not quite translucent. Add the stock. Turn the heat on high and reduce the stock by about half, stirring frequently.

Add your drained noodles to the pan and mix in with the contents on medium heat. Once everything is mixed, add in the ketchup. Add a spoon of oil, and season with soysauce, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir to combine. If you're into spicy food you can also add hotsauce of your choice.

Plate and serve! Makes enough for two.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to xchrispx and Christemo for beta reading!**

**Sorry if this chapter was a little slow, but the plot is going to pick up soon, as well as the relationship(s). We'll get there in a little bit.**

**Papa Tokishima was by far my favorite part in this chapter to write. Sorry, Haruto, Saki, and Yamada! You just don't hold a candle to the craziness that is Papa Tokishima! Best character in the series!**

**I really was disappointed by how the Magius just ended up being largely a faceless mob in the series, so I'm gonna try to inject some life and personality into them. They're gonna be somewhat altered from the canon portrayal to keep them differentiated from the Kamitsuki.**

**I have to apologize for that omake. I have no idea what was going on when I wrote that. Napolitan is kind of an odd food. It's a doubly-interpreted dish, being a Japanese interpretation of an American interpretation of an originally Italian dish. Saki is wrong, the dish definitely does not originate from Naples and it is NOT authentic Italian. In fact, it was created after WWII during the American occupation of Japan. The recipe in the omake is something I put together myself, and I've tested it (with ham), so don't worry, it works. However, I do have a disclaimer: I don't particularly enjoy ketchup on my spaghetti, so I can't actually tell you if it's a GOOD napolitan. It tasted 'okay' to me. So if anyone wants to put the dish together, lemmie know how it turns out and what you think of it!**

**Hope you enjoyed reading and here's to seeing you in the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5 - Kamitsuki Training

**A/N: I** **have to apologize in advance for certain scenes of this chapter. I know absolutely NOTHING about either martial arts or firearms, and while I have done some research to write certain scenes, I'm not completely confident that I've gotten all the details right. So if you see anything factually incorrect, please let me know and I will correct them! That being said, on with the chapter!**

* * *

Haruto put the finishing touches on breakfast while Rukino-san finished up in the bathroom.

_'A nice squirt of ketchup, and done! Wait till Rukino-san gets a look at these!'_

Haruto looked down at the two perfectly golden omelettes on the table, pleased with his creations. They had a big day ahead of them today, with training in the morning and a pilots' meeting in the afternoon, so a good breakfast would get them started nicely. He could hear the hairdrier still blowing away from the bathroom. Maybe he had time to add garnishes?

Why not? He plucked several mushrooms out of the fridge, chopped them, and threw them into the pan with a little oil. A friendly rivalry had grown up between himself and Rukino-san since their napolitan dinner, and now they were each striving to outdo the other in cooking. It was a weird aspect of his new cohabiting life that Haruto found himself rather enjoying.

The novelty of living together with Rukino-san had been wearing off over the past three days, and they'd settled into a routine. The sleepover vibe he'd been feeling since the first day hadn't quite yet faded, but it was definitely disappearing as Haruto got used to Rukino-san. Early on, he'd been nervous about doing something embarrassing accidentally: tripping and knocking Rukino-san over, maybe. Or walking in on her changing. But as the days passed and nothing like that happened, he found himself growing more comfortable with his new life.

Haruto was surprised to discover that, other than changing clothes, sharing a room with a girl wasn't really that different from sharing a room with another guy. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, really. Hell, even the whole toilet seat thing he'd heard so much about turned out to be a non-issue. He'd been careful to leave the seat down after he used it, only to discover Rukino-san lifting the seat up for him after she was done.

_'Maybe personality and mannerisms matter more than gender when it comes to this kind of thing, after all?'_

In that case, he and Rukino-san were more alike than he'd realized. They were both also quiet sleepers, although Haruto noted that Rukino-san tended to be restless, tossing and turning frequently, even while asleep. They were also both neat and tidy, and inclined to keep out of the other's way. Rukino-san was so different from Shoko in that regard. The Sashinamis had a maid when Shoko was little, so Shoko got a little messy when she-

Haruto clamped down on that line of thought. Thinking of Shoko still made his heart ache sometimes, but he was getting better at NOT thinking about her. He'd made a clean cut of it, now he just had to let it heal.

He listened to the whirr of the hairdrier and tried to think of other things.

There was one major difference in living with a girl, though. Rukino-san spent far, far longer in the bathroom than any guy. Her showers could take upwards of an hour, and she often lingered in the bathroom for a good half hour after, drying her hair and doing whatever other things girls did in the bathroom-things Haruto suspected had to do with all those bottles Rukino-san had lined up in the bathroom cabinet.

The hair-drying sound from the bathroom stopped. Haruto sprinkled the chopped mushrooms over the tops of the omelettes.

_'Just in time!'_

The bathroom door opened, and Rukino-san stepped out in a wreath of steam. Haruto gulped. She was wearing only a towel wrapped around her body, the fluffy white fabric not quite covering all the way to the tops of her breasts, and underneath it Haruto could see the full length of her long slim legs. She looked towards the table.

"Ah! Haruto! That looks yummy!" Rukino-san grinned in delight as she spotted the omelettes.

"Saki, wait! Uhm!" Haruto's gaze kept wandering to the bit of Rukino-san's cleavage peeking over her towel. Her freshly-scrubbed skin was such a delicate shade of pink... "You're not gonna eat like that, are you?"

Rukino-san looked down. "Eh? Why not?"

"Well, it's... it's..."

"Is it too _stimulating_ for you, Ha-ru-to~?" Rukino-san winked at him.

"No, no! It's just-" He just wished Rukino-san wouldn't tease him so much.

"No worries then!" Rukino-san smiled and went over to the dresser. "Get~ting changed!"

"Wait! I'll go into the bathroom..." Haruto started to circle the table, but hesitated. Rukino-san was standing squarely in his way. What if he accidentally bumped into her on the way past and her towel fell off?

"Haruto, hang on." Rukino-san said. "You shouldn't have to leave the room every time just because I'm changing. Lemmie grab my stuff and I'll go change in there."

"I don't mind, really!" Haruto insisted. "It's not right for you to have to leave the room either!"

"Alright then, how about neither of us leaves the room?"

"But... but..." Haruto stammered.

"I promise I won't do anything weird, Haruto!" Now she was starting to sound a little annoyed.

_'Rukino-san's right. At some point I have to stop being afraid of intimacy with her. Might as well be now!'_

"Okay." Haruto sat down at the table, his back turned to Saki and the rest of the room. "Lemmie know when you're done."

"Sure thing!"

Haruto squeezed his eyes shut and listened to the soft rustling of cloth behind him. No good. With his eyes closed it was all too easy to recall the last time he'd seen Saki naked. He opened his eyes again and focused on the pattern of the wood grain in the countertop.

The rustling continued, and there was a part of him that wanted nothing more than to turn his head and take a peek. He swallowed hard.

"All done~!" Saki chirped.

Haruto turned around slowly, half-dreading that Saki was playing another joke on him. What if she was standing there in her underwear or naked or something?

But no, Saki was nonchalantly putting up her hair, already dressed in the undershirt and skirt of the Sakimori girls' uniform. He breathed a sigh of relief.

He watched as Saki finished tying her ribbon into a bow and trail her slender fingers down the ends to make sure they were the same length. He had to admit it was pretty impressive. Sure, he'd gotten pretty good at doing his necktie, but at least he got to look at that. Saki was managing it just by feel!

Unbidden, another image of feminine fingers tying knots came to his mind: Shoko's hands fluttering about his neck as she helped him with his tie on the first day of school at Sakimori. He guiltily shoved the memory away, looking up as Rukino-san joined him at the table.

"Mmmmm, those look great!" Rukino-san picked up a spoon. "You're shaping up to be a fine chef, young Haruto!"

Haruto grinned. "I don't want to hear those words from you until you've made a better omuraisu than me!"

"You're on. I'll show you tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning it is."

""Itadakimasu!""

* * *

Haruto looked around the field at the other students in their gym clothing. There must have been a few dozen milling around and talking. Some of the more athletically-minded, like Rukino-san, were doing stretches while they waited.

_'All of them recently signed up for boot camp, huh? Good thing that craziness after the marriage announcement died down...'_

The first day after they'd moved in together had been the worst. Starting in the morning they'd been beseiged by students showing up at their room. Haruto was happy that so many people wished them well, but it had been overwhelming. Rukino-san hadn't been much help: after the first few students showing up to say congratulations she started retreating to the kitchen area whenver a knock came, out of line of sight of the door.

Thankfully the attention focused on them didn't last too long; the visits had tapered off by late afternoon, and although Wired took longer to calm down, that frenzy was well on its way to dissipating too.

The chaos in the Module since the attack had mostly died down as well. The cleanup of the hanger was complete, and L-Elf had announced that his boot camp was back in session. After breakfast, Haruto and Rukino-san had changed into their gym clothes and headed out to the track where the new recruits had been told to meet.

"Hup! Hup!" Rukino-san was doing some crazy stretch next to him, standing on one leg and extending the other leg up towards her head. Her hair was up in a ponytail and bobbed slightly with her motions.

_'She's so flexible...'_

"Not gonna stretch, Haruto?" Rukino-san chided. "You should always stretch before a workout. It improves performance and prevents injury!"

"Right!" Haruto nodded. He started in on some of the stretches he'd learned in gym classes. It felt kinda strange; gym class seemed like it was so long ago...

"Hey everyone! Let's get this show on the road!" A voice called loudly from the side of the track. Haruto looked over to see Takeo-senpai, a third year, standing there with a tablet. "Roll call!"

_'Not L-Elf?'_

Haruto supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. L-Elf had his hands full doing, well, what was supposed to be Haruto's job as Defense Minister, so it made sense that L-Elf would delegate. The roll call reached him, and he raised his hand. "Here!"

Takeo-senpai finished taking attendance and tapped at his tablet. "Looks like everyone made it. Okay then, let's go for a run!"

Haruto looked down the oval track. Running for boot camp wasn't quite what he'd expected. Shouldn't they be learning combat techniques or something? Still, a run should be easy, right?

"Senpai!" A girl he didn't know the name of called out to Takeo-senpai. "How many laps are we doing?"

Takeo-senpai grinned. "Don't worry about how many laps. You run until I tell you to stop."

_'Oh, boy.'_

* * *

"Can't... go... on..." Haruto gasped. Sweat was pouring down his face and he was gasping for breath. His aching leg muscles burned furiously.

How many laps had it been? He wasn't sure. He'd stopped counting after the first ten, and they'd just gone around and around and around...

"You okay, Haruto?" Rukino-san encouraged, running easily beside him, her ponytail bobbing up and down. "Come on, just a little further!"

Haruto eyed her sourly. Rukino-san was breathing a little rapidly and her skin was lightly sheened with sweat, but other than that she seemed to be fine. "How are you... doing this... so easily...?"

Rukino-san grinned. "Believe it or not, Being an idol is pretty demanding physically. Rehearsals, dance training, running every day to keep my figure trim... You know how much energy it takes to just do a show with singing and dancing? I'll have you know I wasn't one of those hacks who just stood there and waved their arms around a little or lip synced to a recording. Ruki WORKED for her fans!"

"Uh... Huh..." Haruto huffed.

"I'm so out of shape now." Rukino-san grumbled. "Look at this, I'm actually out of breath from a little run like this. Shouldn't have skipped all those gym classes..."

"Jeez, and I... thought I was... pretty fit..."

"You're not bad! And remember, you can always go further than you think you can!"

Haruto glanced around. The students had separated out into three loose clumps, and Takeo-senpai was moving up and down the line checking on people. Up front were the athletes, and behind were stragglers who were doing even worse than he was. And between those two groups were the rest of the runners, Haruto and Rukino-san included.

_'Rukino-san should be up ahead with those others... but instead she's hanging back with me...'_

"Saki... Go on ahead... I'm just... holding you back..." He wheezed.

"It's no problem! Being over there would be boring anyway! It's much more fun around here."

Just then, Takeo-senpai came up alongside them. He was actually managing to run while typing into his tablet! Haruto envied him.

"Hey, how's the newlyweds?" Takeo-senpai grinned at them while tapping on his tablet's screen. "Come on, Tokishima-kun! You're not gonna let your bride beat you?"

"Not... married... yet..." Haruto's cheeks burned. Hopefully his face was probably already red with exertion and Takeo-senpai wouldn't notice the blush. "We're engaged!"

"Close enough. Close enough!" Takeo-senpai winked at them. "You two set a date for the wedding yet?"

"Ah, uhm, no... no... we're just... uhm..." Haruto stammered, nearly stumbling.

"No date yet, but we have plenty of time for that!" Rukino-san came to his defense. "Anyways, shouldn't you be back there yelling at the slow runners or whatever drill instructors do?"

Haruto was taken aback by the hostility in Rukino-san's tone. And so too, it seemed, was Takeo-senpai. "Huh? No, I'm just taking notes on how everyone's doing for now. And why would I yell at them? Even L-Elf-sen-I mean, L-Elf says that yelling at people would be counterproductive."

"Oh." Rukino-san was still glaring at Takeo-senpai. "Well, if that's all you're here for, shouldn't you be done with your notes by now? Or maybe runners aren't the only 'slow' thing around here?"

"Yeah." Now Takeo-senpai gave Rukino-san a distinctly unfriendly look. "I think I'm about done here." He held up a hand as he started pulling ahead. "Later, Tokishima-kun."

_'Great, now Rukino-san and Takeo-senpai got off on the wrong foot. I can't leave things like this!'_

"Senpai, wait!" Haruto gasped out.

Takeo-senpai looked back towards them. "Yeah?"

"Sorry, Senpai! It's just... we've had alot of people... asking about the wedding... and stuff... over the last few days... so... it's been a little... overwhelming..."

Takeo-senpai looked between Haruto and Rukino-san for a moment, and then the grin came back to his face. "Hey, I get it, no worries, guys! Sorry for prying like that!" He winked at them again, and then resumed his run up towards the head of the column.

"What was up with that?" Haruto turned back to see Rukino-san glaring at him now. "I don't need you to apologize for me, Haruto!"

"S... sorry..." Haruto stammered. "But Senpai didn't... mean anything bad. He had good intentions... I didn't want to see... you guys get a bad impression of each other... because of a misunderstanding..."

"Misunderstanding, huh...?" Rukino-san seemed to take this in. Suddenly, her face fell. "Sorry, Haruto. I made a mess of that, didn't I?"

"It's fine..." Haruto wheezed. "Let's just... focus on running... for now?"

"Okay."

* * *

"Alright, everyone! I'm THUNDER! Sakimori Academy's top dog! And I'm gonna teach you all how to kick some ass! Spread out into rows!"

Haruto stared. Yamada was dressed in a white gi with his hands crossed over his chest, grinning authoritatively at the student volunteers.

_'Running is one thing. Anyone can do a running class. But shouldn't L-Elf be handling the combat training in person?'_

Haruto raised his hand in the air. "Yamada? Shouldn't L-Elf be here instead?"

"It's THUNDER, dammit! And don't you worry about L-Elf!" Yamada jabbed a thumb towards his own chest. "I'll give you plenty to handle on my own!"

"Errr, right." Haruto put his hand back down. He snuck a glance at Rukino-san beside him, but she was quiet, seemingly absorbed in her own thoughts.

Rukino-san had been silent since Takeo-senpai had left them. After the run was done, the volunteers had been told to go to the gym, where tumbling mats had been spread over the floor and they'd found Yamada waiting for them. All throughout, Rukino-san hadn't said a thing to him.

_'Did I upset her? I hope she's not mad at me because of what I said...'_

Maybe he'd gone over the line by apologizing for her. But given the situation, he couldn't keep silent, could he?

_'I'll apologize to her properly when we're done with this training. There's really no time for it now.'_

"Alright! This here's one of your basic Judo stances, shizen hontai!" Yamada called out, spreading his legs slightly and shifting one foot a little in front of the other. "Feet spread shoulder-wide! Get your weight up over your toes and the front of your foot, and you wanna have a little bend in your knees and hips!" He bobbed up and down a little to show them how it was done. "Hands up in front, elbows up and away from your body, like this! Now you all try it!"

Haruto complied, shuffling into an imitation of Yamada's stance.

Yamada looked up and down the rows, nodding. "Not bad, not bad! You, with the red hair in the back! Feet a little wider! You in the front there, stop slouching!" His gaze found Haruto in the middle of the group. "Haruto! Not so stiff! You gotta have some give in your legs! Flexible, like!"

Haruto grimaced and allowed his legs to sag.

"Not that much, man!" Yamada shook his head. "Now you're going all limp! You're just gonna get bowled over like that!"

"Like this?" Haruto tried to firm up his posture.

"Better." Yamada nodded. "Yeah. Much better."

Yamada glanced over the volunteers again. "It's all about the stance! You got a good stance, yer in good hands! You got a bad stance... and yer screwed! Got that?"

"""Got it!""" The crowd of volunteers called back.

"Good!" Yamada grinned. "Now lemmie show you some moves, and then you'll try em out!"

Haruto watched as Yamada took them through basic movements. Punches. Kicks. He tried to mimic Yamada's motions as closely as he could.

...but somehow, he didn't seem to be doing very well.

"Step it up, Haruto! You're thinking too much! You gotta feel it!" Yamada called.

"I'm trying!" Haruto threw another punch at the air.

Yamada watched him for a moment. "You know what it is? You're too tense. Well, think about it this way: this ain't no battle. It's just training! So take it easy!"

Haruto nodded. He took a deep breath and let it flow through him, then threw the punch again. "Better?"

"Better." A grin appeared on Yamada's face and his voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. "After we get done here, how 'bout you get your honey there to give you a nice massage, huh?"

"Not you too, Yamada!" Haruto groaned. He looked over at Rukino-san, hoping she wouldn't get angry again.

Far from getting angry, Rukino-san was just scowling a bit at Yamada. Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?

"Alright, everyone's looking good!" Yamada winked at Haruto, then raised his voice again. "Let's get on with it!" He beckoned to a student who had been slouched against the wall since the volunteers entered the gym. "This here's my bro, Kengo. We're gonna grapple and show you some takedowns!"

Haruto watched with interest as Yamada talked about the grapple, where to grasp the opponent and how to shift their center of gravity. Yamada gripped Kengo with both hands, then deftly flipped Kengo over his shoulder and down to the mat.

"That was a moro te seoi nage, because I used two hands. There's also a one-handed one where you get your off hand under their shoulder, the ippon seoi nage. Anyways, you get em on their backs, like this." Yamada grinned evilly. "Then you can do all kinds of shit to em!"

"Hell no, man! Get off!" Kengo complained from underneath Yamada.

"Nah, I wasn't gonna do anything to ya." Yamada rose and helped pull Kengo to his feet. "Kengo's gonna do the same throw on me, so you can get a look at how to do it on someone taller than you."

Haruto watched as Kengo took Yamada down, and then each of them repeated the steps of the throw slowly.

_'Seems easy enough... pull them off-balance towards you like that, huh?'_

"Okay!" Yamada said. "Now you all try it! Split up into pairs! Boys with boys, girls with girls!"

* * *

Shoko opened the door to the nurse's office.

Nanami-sensei and Kibukawa-sensei were already inside. Nanami-sensei was seated at the nurse station desk, and Kibukawa-sensei was half-sprawled indolently on one of the beds. They both looked up as Shoko entered.

"Yo, Sashinami-kun!" Kibukawa-sensei raised a hand in greeting.

"Hello, Prime Minister!" Nanami-sensei said. "Please have a seat!"

Shoko grimaced internally. Hearing people she thought of as friends previously now calling her as 'Prime Minister' bothered her. It made her feel distanced, as if she no longer quite moved in the same circles as the other students. And now Nanami-sensei as well...

_'Should I ask her to just call me 'Sashinami-san,' like she used to?'_

She decided against it. She WAS Prime Minister now, after all. And there were all sorts of politicians and businesspeople she dealt with every day who looked at her and only saw a young girl. If she wanted to be taken seriously by them, she had to make sure they were reminded of her position. If Nanami-sensei ended up calling her 'Sashinami-san' during a meeting...

"Hello!" Shoko said cheerily as she took a seat on a bed. "What was that problem you wanted to see me about, Nanami-sensei?"

"Ah, uhm. It's for something in my post as Minister of Health and Welfare. I've had a... uhm... a number of students coming to see me... about... about..." Nanami-sensei fidgeted.

_'Is... is she blushing?'_

"I'm an adult and all, so I think... this is something I should take responsibility for... And also, my post as Minister of Health and Welfare. This is a health concern, after all, so..."

"Take it easy, Nanami-chan!" Kibukawa-sensei said from over on his bed. "Breathe, and just tell Sashinami-kun like you were telling me earlier!"

Nanami-sensei took a deep breath. "I've had fifteen students come to me in the past three days, asking for... uh... condoms and contraceptives. And there's been five student couples announcing weddings over Wired!"

"HUH?" Shoko's mouth fell open. "That's... uh... why is that a problem?"

"It's... uhm... well." Nanami-sensei's mouth set firmly. "If fifteen students came and wanted condoms and stuff, think about how many more are... are, doing, you know, without protection!"

"Oh." Shoko was at a loss for words. "So... you're thinking of like, STDs?"

"Well, STDs aren't really the problem..." Nanami-sensei said. "I don't think many of the students were, uhm, active before coming to Sakimori, so there's probably not any infections to go around. And even if there were I could treat them. ...I think. It's more the... uhm... the..."

"Risk of pregnancies." Kibukawa-sensei put in.

"Thank you, Sensei!" Nanami-sensei said with some relief. She turned back to Shoko. "Yeah! That!"

"Oh." Shoko said again. "Isn't... isn't that their own business? I mean, if, you know, they want to... sleep with each other, that's not, uhm, really our concern?"

"It is our concern!" Nanami-sensei drew herself up. "It's the duty of the Minster of Health and Welfare-no, the government, to handle health issues, and things like pregnancy and childbirth are health issues! I'm sure ARUS would help us with prenatal care, but the students are all much too young! They're not ready to take care of babies!"

Shoko's mouth was open again. Nope. This was definitely not a conversation she thought she'd be having. She didn't really feel like the duty of a Prime Minister should be to worry about when and how people were having sex. But Nanami-sensei was looking at her so earnestly...

"What do you think should we do about it, Sensei?"

"Well... this all started when Rukino-san and Tokishima-kun got engaged. The students all look up to them, you know, so when they got engaged and they moved in together, well, alot of other student couples took that as a sign that they should also start, uhm, you know, relations!"

_'Haruto and Rukino-san...'_

Shoko sucked in a breath. She hated to admit it, but her 'investigation' into Haruto and Rukino-san's engagement wasn't really going anywhere. Shortly after Haruto had told her about the engagement, she'd paid Akira-chan a visit and finally asked her to check up on the time when Rukino-san had posted on Haruto's Wired account.

_**"It's his account..." Akira-chan pointed to some lines of incomprehensible text on her cell phone. "Logged. V-verification confirmed."** _

_**"But that doesn't make any sense!" Shoko said in frustration. "I know Haruto, and there's no way he would write something like that!"** _

_**Akira-chan opened her mouth, blew out a breath, closed it again, and started to press buttons on her cell rapidly. Shoko pulled out her own phone and opened up Wired. Akira-chan was speaking more often to her now, but it still seemed easier for her to communicate through texts.** _

_**RAINBOW: The server says he logged in normally with a retinal scan. That kind of biometric verification is pretty much impossible to circumvent. And I can't find any evidence the server records were tampered with.** _

_**"But then how did she do it?" Shoko asked, not really expecting an answer. Akira-chan shrugged and tapped on her phone.** _

_**RAINBOW: Maybe she swiped his phone?** _

_**Shoko sighed. That was the most likely scenario, after all. But there was still no way to prove it.** _

Even that weird picture posted on Haruto's Wired ended up being inconclusive...

_**"I don't think this is a shop." Marie said.** _

_**"How can you tell?" Shoko asked. "They look so awkward! Look how they're lying there all weird with their eyes closed!"** _

_**"I can tell... from the pixels and by having seen quite a few shops in my time." Marie smiled.** _

_**Shoko groaned and thwacked Marie lightly on the shoulder. "Marie! Be serious!"** _

_**"I am serious! Look, the lighting on the Valvrave hand is the same on both Haruto and Rukino-san. There's no border around them that suggests cropping, no repeated pixels. This looks legit."** _

_**"There's no way to tell if the picture was edited other than looking at it?"** _

_**"Sometimes." Marie's voice sped up a bit as she talked about her beloved photography, although her face was as impassive as ever. "You can find out all sorts of things about a digital image through EXIF data, like what device was used to take the image, date taken, even the location the image was taken at if the device allows geotagging via GPS. And sometimes you can tell that an image has been saved using image editing software. But I checked this image's EXIF data, and..."** _

_**"And?"** _

_**"And this image's got no EXIF data. Either the EXIF data was scrubbed afterwards, or it was taken by a device which doesn't record EXIF data." Marie said.** _

_**"...a device like a Valvrave's external camera?" Shoko guessed.** _

_**Marie lazily cocked a finger towards Shoko. "Bingo."** _

And that was it for her leads. Shoko had asked Akira-chan to try and turn up whatever about Rukino-san that she could. Akira-chan had agreed, but so far she hadn't reported anything. In any event, asking Akira-chan to snoop around was more an act of desperation. And Shoko knew it.

At the beginning she'd thought that the engagement was another one of Rukino-san's schemes to increase her popularity, but there had been no public announcement from the former idol. No attempts to play up the publicity. Shoko had even started following Rukino-san on Wired, but in the past three days, Rukino-san hadn't posted one word online about the engagement. So that angle was looking less and less likely every day.

_'Am I just being overly suspicious? In denial because Haruto rejected me? The right thing to do would just be to go directly to Haruto and Rukino-san and ask about what was going on. But I... I...'_

It would be too hard to do. Shoko couldn't help it, but every time she thought about confronting Haruto, tears threatened to well up in her eyes. How could she ask him if she was bawling uncontrollably?

_**"Someone important to me is crying!" Haruto exclaimed. "If now isn't the time to do something, then when?"** _

_'If I cried in front of him again it would just make him sad too. And besides, if he decided to choose Rukino-san... I shouldn't be dragging him down with me!'_

"Prime Minister? Are you listening?" Nanami-sensei waved at her.

"Ah! Sorry, Sensei!" Shoko jerked to alertness. "What were you saying?"

"I was saying, maybe you could talk to Rukino-san and Tokishima-kun... you're friends with them, right?"

"Ehhh? You want me to tell them to end their relationship?" Shoko blurted.

_'Could it be that easy? Just go up to them and tell them that they're a bad example for the other students and to knock it off, because Sensei said so? And that would be the end of it?'_

For a moment Shoko's heart leap at the chance. But no, that wasn't right either. Not only did neither she or Nanami-sensei have any right to tell Haruto and Rukino-san what they were doing was wrong, Haruto must have had a very good reason for whatever was going on. Even if she didn't trust Rukino-san 100%, she did trust Haruto... so maybe it would be best to just leave things as they were.

"Huh? No no!" Nanami-sensei waved her hands in front of her. "That's not what I meant at all! I just wanted to know if you could talk to them, maybe ask them if they could tell other students to, you know, uhm... not... do it? Or at least, if they couldn't hold back, to use protection?"

_'Oh. Where HAD that thought about telling them to end their relationship come from?'_

Shoko was troubled. Was that what she really wanted, after all?

"Do you think you could do that, Prime Minister?" Nanami-sensei wanted to know.

"I..." Shoko thought about it.

_'There's no way. That'd be WAY too awkward.'_

"I don't think I can." Shoko admitted. "Why don't you do it, Sensei? I wasn't in your class but you're also a Health teacher, right?"

"I... well." Nanami-sensei bowed her head. "I was supposed to start teaching Health class next semester, so even though I was called a Health and Physical Education teacher... I've never actually talked to any students about... this and that. And also... well, it's about Rukino-san."

"Rukino-san? What about her?"

"I, uhm. I get the feeling she doesn't like me very much. She didn't show up to my swimming class or my remedial swimming class either. And sometimes in gym class she'd give me this look. I think if I talked to her and Tokishima-kun it might have the opposite effect. I know I've failed as a teacher by doing so, but I can only ask you to do this, Prime Minister!"

"Now now, Nanami-chan! Don't sweat it!" Kibukawa-sensei offered. "It's not possible to have everyone like you, you know!"

"Thanks, Sensei!" Nanami-sensei perked up. "So, Prime Minister, please! Will you please talk to Tokishima-kun and Rukino-san for me?"

"I'm sorry, Sensei!" Shoko apologized. "I just can't!"

Nanami-sensei was distraught. "But Prime Minister! The students are just too young to risk having children! It's much too irresponsible of us to-"

Kibukawa-sensei spoke up, his tone quiet but firm. "You know, Nanami-chan, everyone would say the students were too young to be fighting in a war. But there they are risking their lives on the front lines. So if they want to have a little fun, why not let them?"

"I..." Nanami-sensei looked crushed. "I guess so, Sensei. There's just something very weird about this whole thing though..."

"Huh? What do you mean by 'weird,' Sensei?" Shoko was intrigued. So it wasn't just her that thought something was odd with Haruto and Rukino-san's engagement?

"Ah, never mind that." Nanami-sensei said quickly, sounding contrite. "Sorry, it was just a spur of the moment thing. I didn't mean anything by it!"

"I'm not offended!" Shoko said. "I just wanted to know what you meant by 'weird!'"

"Well..." Nanami-sensei's finger went to her chin again. "If I had to put my finger on it, it's like... they were all like 'fwoo fwoo~' before..." She held her hands up about a foot apart. "And then suddenly they were all like 'KA-PAA!'" She clapped her hands together. "It was just so fast! You never saw them talking much, or holding hands before, and then suddenly marriage? It's almost like they had... erm... never mind that."

_'So it wasn't just me! Someone else thought it was weird how fast they hooked up!'_

"Not all that weird if you ask me," Kibukawa-sensei put in, rubbing his stubble-covered chin. "They're teenagers! They're famous for their hormones and making decisions on the spot! I'd say this kind of speed is about normal."

"Not this fast!" Nanami-sensai objected. "I may be inexperienced when it comes to teaching, but one thing I know is teenagers! I was a teenager not that long ago! We had quite a few students having affairs when I was in high school, but none of those affairs was this fast!"

"Your high school classmates also never fought a war against Dorssians and piloted giant robots together! That's a bonding experience if ever I saw one!"

Seeing her opportunity, Shoko slipped out of the door, leaving the two teachers to their back and forth. For a moment, she'd wavered on whether or not to just leave the mystery of Haruto's engagement. But now that she knew that at least one other person realized what was going on, her resolve was rekindled!

_'Just you wait, Haruto! I'll find out the secret behind your serious face, or my name's not Sashinami Shoko!'_

* * *

"Okay, go ahead and try putting those guns back together!" Inuzuka-senpai said.

The gathered volunteers around her in the arts and crafts classroom got to work, fiddling with the bits of metal on their benches.

Saki stared down at the confusion of disassembled gun parts in front of her and could feel her eyes glazing over.

Inuzuka-senpai had gone over it twice already, but she still couldn't make heads or tails out of it.

And it didn't help that Haruto's words from earlier kept running through her head! Saki typically didn't spend much time on self-recrimination; she had better things to do with her time. But for some reason ever since hearing Haruto's words, she couldn't stop thinking about them!

_**"He had good intentions. I didn't want to see you guys get a bad impression of each other because of a misunderstanding!"** _

_'Was that true? Did that guy really mean well? He was just joking around and not trying to put us down?'_

Thinking back on it, Saki was disturbed to realize she really couldn't tell. She'd been so quick to assume the worst, that the guy was making fun of her and Haruto. The anger had just surged up, like that, and before she knew it she had been telling the guy off.

It was something that she'd made a pattern of doing, she now realized. The first day of school at Sakimori where she'd blown up at the class. That little knot of fanboys she'd chased away from the water fountain a few days after that. The seething hatred she'd felt briefly for Inuzuka-senpai, when he'd voiced his concerns about her to Aina-chan. Even Aina-chan. On no less than two occasions she'd been ready to instantly assume the worst about Aina-chan, once before she'd really gotten to know the quiet girl, and the second time much later, when she really should have known better.

And yet, wasn't Saki justified in assuming the worst about people? Most of the students at Sakimori were... well, scum. The girls were sycophants and wannabe socialites who couldn't handle it if you didn't immediately toady up to them. The boys were immature twits with no class, who pretended to want to be friends with girls, but would talk about jerking off to those same girls with their friends. Wasn't she right to reject people like that? They weren't worth her time after all?

_'But Aina-chan wasn't like that. And everyone liked Aina-chan. Haruto too.'_

That was the crux of it. Aina-chan wasn't a sycophant or a socialite, and Haruto certainly wasn't an immature twit. But everyone still liked them. Legitimately liked them. The same girls that stuck up their noses at Saki invariably had a smile and kind words for Aina-chan, and Saki had noticed just how many of Haruto's friends showed up to see Haruto off from the boys' dorms, when no one showed up for her.

_'Was it me, then? Was the problem always me?'_

_'Am I...'_

_'...an unlikeable person?'_

_'Is that why Mom did the things she did? And why Dad always...'_

No. She shoved that thought away as soon as she'd had it, fearful of the old wounds it might open up. She was Rukino Saki. She had millions of fans, back before she was unfairly fired. Chart topper. Record sales numbers. Beloved film actress. Songstress of JIOR. If there was anyone who was LIKEABLE, it HAD to be her.

Yes. The vain rememberences of her achievements fed her ego. Kept her safe from the darkness that had all but consumed her for so many years.

Haruto and Aina-chan were wonderful people, to be sure. Great, selfless people who gave their all for the sake of others, and she loved them both dearly. But they were naive. She, who had been forced to live in the world of adults for so long, knew better. Especially in the idol industry, where all the record companies were out to just squeeze you until you ran dry, and at any moment you could be cast down and replaced by someone with a cuter face or a sweeter voice, or someone just plain more "marketable."

The competitive world of adults. Where you had to claw and fight your way to the top and then defend your throne against all comers, all of your peers who were sharpening knives to stick in your back. That was the world Haruto and Aina-chan had never lived in, never been tainted by. That was the only reason they could afford to have their sweet naivety.

 _'But that's not the world you're living in now, is it?'_ A small voice in the back of her mind chided.

No, she had to admit it wasn't. Sakimori was a different world entirely. Not even the world of high school anymore, after the war. Their school-turned-country had become something entirely new, the students dependant on one another for survival.

Maybe... maybe those lessons she'd learned back in the world of adults no longer really applied?

That one, she wasn't ready to admit to just yet. As sweet as Haruto's naivety was, it made him vulnerable, open to being taken advantage of. Even in this new world they were in, there was always someone who was ready to-

A throb of guilt pulsed through her chest. And just who was the one that took advantage of Haruto's naivety?

It was her, wasn't it? She'd been the one to stab Haruto in the back, abusing his kindness by jacking his body. And for what? A measly little promo spot on Wired?

She'd been so lucky, Saki thought. Lucky that Haruto hadn't turned against her after the incident. If it had been her in Haruto's place she probably would have turned on someone who used her body like that in a heartbeat. Probably even tried to get revenge. He was a geniuine saint indeed.

_'Is that what the world of adults turned me into? Oh, Haruto... I'm so sorry...'_

Saki looked over at Haruto. He was bent over his bench, frowning in concentration, his hands moving quickly and precisely over his gun parts. He must have sensed her watching him, because he looked up.

"Saki? What is it?"

"Nothing!" Saki lied. "I was just thinking you've got some skilled hands there."

"Thanks." Haruto flexed his fingers. "I guess I take after my old man."

"Mmm." Saki looked down at her own assorted gun parts. She gingerly picked up some of the little metal bits, turning them to get a good look. The dark metal was heavier than she thought they would be, and the gun oil on them felt so icky on her fingers!

_'That oily feel... how long is that going to take to wash off?'_

"Saki?" Haruto offered. "Do you need some help?"

"Naaaah, I'm good." Saki waved him off, looking down at the bit of metal in her hand intently and pretending to be engrossed in her work. It was the 'hammer.' Maybe? Or was it the 'decocking lever?'

_'There Haruto goes again, trying to help others. But that's not a bad thing, is it? At least not in this world we're in now?'_

Maybe she herself could do with a bit of that. Maybe she should try to imitate Haruto a little. Try to help people out. Not just only by paying back debts, as she used to do, but by being proactive?

Saki blew out a breath. Too much heavy thinking. Especially for now when she was supposed to be reassembling this gun. She set down the maybe-hammer and picked up another piece. Well, at least she knew for sure this one was the stock. The stock was attached to the... what?

_'Why do I have to build this stupid gun anyway? Shouldn't I be pointing it at a target on a shooting range and cutting loose? The problem was that I MISSED the Dorssians, not that I didn't put the gun together fast enough before they shot me! Sure, Inuzuka-senpai talked about how a soldier had to be prepared if their weapon malfunctioned, but STILL!'_

That was another one of her problems, Saki thought. If she didn't like an activity, or didn't see any value in it, she usually lost all interest in it, not even putting up a pretense of trying to do it. That was something else she should probably work on...

 _'Wonderful. As long as I'm in this introspective mood, why don't I just go over ALL of my foiables?'_ She thought sarcastically at herself. _'Just forget all that, and build the damn gun!'_

"Need some help there, Rukino-san?" Inuzuka-senpai said suddenly from behind her, his hand touching her shoulder.

"AAAAGGGGGGH!" Saki screamed, bolting upright. The gun stock slipped out of her fingers and landed in the pile of parts with a crash, sending metal bits flying. Her legs caught between the bench and her seat and for a moment she thought she would trip and fall, but somehow she managed to dance free and stagger back and away from Inuzuka-senpai, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Ah! Sorry for startling you!" Inuzuka hurried to apologize. The sheepish look on his face quickly transformed into one of concern as he got a better look at her. "Rukino-san? Are you okay?"

Saki struggled to form a reply. Her mouth was bone dry, and her belly was churning so hard she thought she might puke. Everyone was staring at her in shocked silence. "I- I..."

All the eyes in the room were still trained on her. Unable to take the stares, she fumbled for the first thing that came to mind, her voice sounding harsh and shrill even to herself. "Excuse me, I have to go to the BATHROOM!"

Haruto stood up, his blue eyes filled with concern. "Saki, hang on, I'm coming with-"

"YOU STAY RIGHT THERE, HARUTO!" Saki screeched. Without waiting for a response, she turned and ran out of the classroom.

Thankfully, Haruto didn't follow her. But even as she swerved into the hallway, she could hear the whispers start up behind her.

* * *

Akira scratched under her arm, then tapped the touchscreen of her tablet for the link to the next page of the blog. She stifled a yawn.

The pouting face of Rukino Saki stared up at her from the top of the page, right about the huge pastel letters spelling out "Ruki's Corner." Akira quickly scrolled down to scan the text.

_'Just another page. One more page and I'll take a break.'_

It made her feel extremely guilty to be browsing through the life of her fellow pilot like this. Although the blog she was reading now was written for public consumption by Rukino-san herself, the earlier information she was pulling up from the record company servers was anything but public.

Employee information. Contract terms. Sales figures. Notice of termination. All normal employment stuff, as far as she could tell. The only fishy thing she'd found was that the company had apparently paid in full for a rather posh apartment for Rukino-san. The lease for the apartment, however, was to one 'Alice Murphy,' with one unnamed dependant listed that Akira assumed was Rukino-san.

Was that normal? Akira had no idea. Maybe it was perfectly normal for record companies to provide lodging for their stars. And it was entirely possible that Rukino-san had been adopted. But something about it seemed off.

In any case, she was only rooting through Rukino-san's past because Shoko-chan asked her to. From what she'd heard at the pilots' meeting, Rukino-san had jacked Tokishima-san and used his body to post on Wired. But the other pilots had impressed on her that the Kamitsuki thing had to be kept absolutely secret. So all she could do was fob Shoko-chan off.

 _'Look at me, master hacker, supposed to be dedicated to the free flow of information and all that jazz. Renbokoji Akira, now part of the establishment! Ironic, isn't it, Ms. Tomato?'_ She thought fondly at the fuzzy green doll sitting on the side of Little Witch's console.

Fobbing Shoko-chan off and then ignoring her request, however, made Akira feel even more guilty than hacking through Rukino-san's records. So hacking it was.

Although, Akira thought wryly, hacking was mostly a misnomer in this case. Most of what she'd read about Rukino-san came from online encyclopedias, and now she was going through the idol's blog... which was so hideously banal, it almost hurt to read.

_'What is this, a recipe for napolitan? As if anyone wouldn't know how to make napolitan? Well, maybe people from ARUS wouldn't know how to make it. But that's what they get for not being JIORan Master Race!'_

Akira licked her lips and stretched. Thinking of napolitan reminded her of one of Shoko-chan's taste combinations, spicy tomato sauce with bonito flakes on rice crackers. She could sure go for one right about now... Or maybe a few.

No, no. That was dangerous. She was already eating way too much lately. The more she ate, the more she had to deal with the hassle of going to the bathroom.

Akira froze as she felt a tightening in her lower belly. _'Not good. Gotta poop.'_

Would it go away if she held it in a bit? Didn't seem like it. She'd already held one back until it went away last night, and now it was back with a vengeance. She sat there for a moment just to make sure, until a slow, rolling cramp started in her lower belly.

With an annoyed sigh, Akira reached over to the side of her chair for one of the jars tied up in a blanket there. Time to play with zero-g physics again...

...her hand closed on an empty cloth bundle.

_'Out of jars again? This soon?'_

She definitely had been eating too much lately.

Well, it wasn't a problem. It wasn't like this sort of thing never happened before. She'd just text Satomi and have him come over with some extra jars.

Akira put her tablet down, grabbed her cell, and dialed Satomi's number.

 **RAINBOW:** Satomi, could you bring me some more jars? I ran out.

...

Akira squirmed in her chair as the cramp slowly grew worse. Where was Satomi? Why wasn't he texting her back? She typed in another message.

 **RAINBOW:** I'm out of jars! COME QUICK!

Still no response. The cramp subsided and she breathed a sigh of relief, but it quickly returned a few seconds later.

 _'Stupid brother. What are you doing?'_ Akira tapped on Little Witch's console and quickly accessed Sakimori's internal cameras. She scanned the feeds, quickly switching from one view to the next.

 _'THERE YOU ARE!'_ Camera 346M showed Satomi giving some kind of presentation to a group of ARUS suits. She turned on the audio.

**"And as you can see from this projection here, the Module should reach food self-sufficiency within only 8 months with the loan of the new farming equipment..."**

**"Very nice, Renbokoji-san! One could almost forget you're a high school student! Please, please continue!"**

**"Thank you for your compliment, sir! Now, as you'll see from the next slide..."**

_'Does he have his phone turned off?'_

Akira sent another text.

 **RAINBOW:** STUPID SATOMI! I NEED HELP!

No reaction from the Satomi on screen. His phone WAS off. Of all the times!

What to do? Panic fluttered in Akira's chest along with the fluttering of her bowels. She reached for the bag containing the 'used' jars. Maybe she could squeeze in some more into one of them? No good. They were all pretty much full.

_'Hold it in until Satomi's done?'_

No telling how long that would take.

_'Call Shoko-chan for help?'_

As if!

_'Go in my pants?'_

That was too pathetic even to contemplate. There had to be a solution!

_'Use the bathroom normally?'_

Could she? She quickly turned on Little Witch's external camera. The storage bay was deserted, not a soul in sight. She accessed the Module floor plans, quickly mapped out a route from the bay to the nearest bathroom. Was it possible?

Maybe. Maybe it could be done. There wasn't any reason for anyone to be down here in the bowels of the Module at this time of day. If she went fast, the chances of bumping into another person was almost astronomical.

But the public bathroom was...

_**Akira screamed as her face was forced into the toilet bowl, bubbles erupting from her mouth and disappearing into the froth of dirty water. The surging of the toilet flushing in her ears almost, only almost, drowned out the high pitched sound of girls' laughter.** _

Akira found herself huddling into her seat, knees pulled up under her chin. Her heart was racing and her breathing was rough and labored. She struggled to bring it under control.

_'No way... can't get out to use the public bathroom either.'_

_'So that's it, then? Just poop myself here in the darkness, and let THEM win?'_

There was still a way, wasn't there? Yeah, the circumstances weren't nearly as dire as last time, but it had worked before, so why wouldn't it work now?

She thought it out deliberately. Word by word.

_'What happens if I'm at the supermarket with Shoko-chan, and I have to go to the bathroom? I'll have to use the public bathroom there, won't I?'_

Strangely enough, it worked. Her breathing smoothed out, and although her heart was still racing, it wasn't the frantic pounding of a moment ago. She looked at the floor plan on the console again. How to do it?

Her gaze fell on the cardboard box containing her clothes. Could she carry the box with her?

_'No, that's stupid. What am I gonna do, huddle under it like a turtle and hope people think I'm just a box?'_

No no. The best thing to do would be to dress up like a student. That way, in the unlikely event she ran into someone, as long as she kept her head down they'd just walk on past.

Akira quickly shrugged out of her hoodie, and threw on the first few pieces of Sakimori clothing that came to hand. That done, she plucked Ms. Tomato from the console and clipped her to her shirt.

She popped Little Witch's hatch and floated just in front of the opening. Sucked in a deep breath.

"SUUUUUPEEEEER!"

And with that she launched herself out of Little Witch and into the light.

* * *

Saki didn't know where she was going.

Which wasn't all that big of a problem, because she didn't know where she was, either. Not that she really cared.

After leaving the arts and crafts room, Saki wandered downwards from the school building in a daze, winding up in the maze of hallways under the surface of the Module. She took turns and stairs at random, eventually getting totally lost.

_'Why is this happening again? Just when I thought I was over it...'_

How long had she been wandering? She wasn't sure. It felt like forever, though. Her thoughts were gradually becoming more collected, but her heart was still racing and she still felt jittery and tense.

_'What I need is a splash of cold water in my face to calm me down. Yeah. A nice refreshing splash of cold water...'_

For that, she needed a bathroom.

Saki looked around, trying to get her bearings. It was a little silly of her to think she could get lost in the Module... all the corridors were prominently marked with their coordinates. An oncoming intersection said she was at Grid 3T, Deck 56.

Somehow her ambulations had brought her near the storage bay where they'd had the pilots' meeting. She tried to figure out where the nearest bathroom would be from her current location...

_'Down one flight of stairs, left, and then right, I think.'_

A few moments Saki was in front of a faucet in the bathroom. She turned the spigot with shaky hands, scooped up a hearty handful of water, and splashed it onto her face.

The shock of coldness made her suck in a breath, but it was bracing, and she found herself calming down. Blinking water from her lashes, she stared at her own dripping features in the bathroom mirror.

"Come on, girl. Get a grip!" She said out loud. A certain line she'd heard spoken long ago came to mind. "Really now... 'Darling, it was just fornication!'"

Saki stared at her reflection.

_'Nope. Not glowing. Not even a tiny bit.'_

Absurdly, she broke into a giggle. A shrill giggle bordering on hysteria, but a giggle nonetheless.

_'This is ridiculous! I shouldn't be acting like this, I shouldn't. It's not like this sort of thing never happened to me before!'_

Well, it wasn't quite the same sort of thing, was it? Her parents had never raped her after all.

And when you came to it, being raped wasn't all that bad, was it? Haruto... no, the Kamitsuki attack... whatever, the only thing that had happened was that Haruto's penis got put inside her. What was that compared to having her bones broken, or what happened in the bathtub?

_'And at least I can still laugh. It's gotta be okay if I can still laugh, right?'_

She just needed to bury it inside, like she buried everything else. Then it wouldn't show anymore, right? Those weird reactions... they had to stop, right?

Saki blew out a breath and stepped away from the sink. What to do now?

_'I should probably go find Haruto. He's probably worried about what happened...'_

But what would he be doing now? For all Saki knew, the military training classes were still continuing. She didn't know very much about the military, but it stood to reason it would be like the entertainment industry. The show must go on, right? And if the show was still going on, Saki didn't feel up to the task of having to answer to all those students who would doubtlessly want to know what was up with her. Not that she ever intended to, of course. It wasn't any of their business.

Although staying silent would have its price; she could practically hear the new rumors being whispered already.

Saki sighed. If there were going to be rumors, there were going to be rumors. She dealt with it the last time it happened, and she would deal with it now. Wiping the remaining water carefully from her face, she turned and headed for the exit.

As she came out of the bathroom, she nearly bumped into another girl on her way in. Both of them leapt back in surprise.

"Ah!" That was Saki.

"EEEEEE!" That was the other girl.

Saki put a hand up to her chest. Her heart was racing again, and she was suddenly angry at this girl who had gotten in her way. She opened her mouth to tell the girl off-

-and closed it again. What happened to her resolution from before? Surely this was a good opportunity to put it into practice. She took a good look at the other girl, quickly noting some things.

First thing: She was short. A few inches shorter than Saki. Maybe about 5 feet? A first-year?

Second thing: Long hair, a lovely bright pink, longer than Saki's own, although the girl wasn't wearing it to her advantage. It was sort of nappy, and bound up in a loose ponytail that fell down her back.

Third thing: Terribly dressed. Really, really terribly dressed. The girl was wearing a baggy Sakimori sweatshirt over Sakimori tracksuit pants. Both articles of clothing were creased and rumpled, as if they'd been sitting in storage for a long, long time. A strange ball of green fuzz with a face was clipped to the hem of the sweatshirt.

Fourth thing: The girl was terrified. Way way worse than Saki herself was. Her blue eyes were huge in her pale face, and her trembling mouth was open, a faint throaty whimpering coming from it. She looked about ready to run away in fear.

_'Well, that won't do. That won't do at all. Be nicer, right?'_

* * *

"Hey, hey! Take it easy, I'm not gonna bite you!"

Akira wasn't paying much attention to Rukino Saki's words. Of all the people to run into, she had to run into another pilot! One of the people that was the most likely to realize who she was!

"Uhm, I'll just get out of your way so you can go in..."

Where was it safe? Where could she go? Akira was frozen in an agony of indecision. Run back to Little Witch? Or... her gaze darted to the bathroom door open just beyond Rukino-san. But what if Rukino-san followed her in?

"No? Ahh..."

The panic was steadily getting worse. Soon she'd be in full on panic attack. Control of her body would be wrested from her, and she'd find herself fleeing blindly away. How would that affect her standing with the rest of the pilots when Rukino-san told them what happened? She'd-

"Hey, that's a pretty interesting doll! Can I see?"

_'Ms. Tomato?'_

The unexpected request broke through her racing thoughts. Akira instinctively stepped back, clutching Ms. Tomato protectively with both hands.

"Sorry, I wasn't gonna snatch it or anything!" Rukino-san looked sheepish. "I was just thinking there was something familiar about that doll... Do you think I could take a look at it?"

_'Is this a trick?'_

Akira remembered a similar incident from before, back in middle school, when a girl had asked to borrow her notes, only to have her notebook returned to her practically shredded. Was Rukino-san planning on doing the same to Ms. Tomato?

No, it didn't seem like it. She wasn't sure about her ability to read faces after so long, but Rukino-san was looking sheepish and nervous. Completely unlike the girl from before, who had beem smiling and looked completely trustworthy. Still...

Akira gingerly unclipped Ms. Tomato from her sweatshirt and gingerly tilted the plushie's face towards Rukino-san.

"L-look... with your eyes... n-not... w, wi..."

"With my hands. Mmm-hmm!" Rukino-san put her hands behind her back and leaned in for a look. She studied the doll closely.

Akira stared at Rukino-san's posture carefully, ready at any moment for the idol to try and snatch Ms. Tomato away. Her trembling fingers clutched at the doll harder and harder, until-

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

"Waaaah!" Rukino-san jerked back from the laughing doll, stumbling against the frame of the bathroom door and nearly falling down.

Akira couldn't help it. She didn't want to be mean, but a giggle burst out of her lips. Suddenly Rukino-san didn't seem quite so scary.

Rukino-san glared at her, and then started to giggle too. "Oh my... can you believe that's the second time today I've done that?"

Akira clamped down on her laughter. "S-sorry..."

"No worries." Rukino-san put a hand to her hair. "We each scared each other, so we're even! Lemmie just get out of your way..."

Akira looked back towards the door. Right, the bathroom. But even with her panic attack averted, she found it still wasn't so easy to just walk in.

_'If Rukino-san is here, that means I was wrong and there ARE people around this part of the module... that means someone could walk in on me while I'm in there...'_

_**Akira huddled on top of the toilet, hugging her knees. The voices coming from beyond the stall's thin walls grew louder.** _

_**"Hey, Renbokoji, we know you're in there!"** _

_**"Phew, it sure stinks! What'd you eat, milady?"** _

_**"Ready or not, we're coming in!"** _

_**WHAM! The door of the stall shook as someone kicked it. Akira covered her ears with her hands.** _

"Hey... Hey! Are you okay? You looked like..."

Akira jerked. Rukino-san was staring at her intently. The idol suddenly nodded, as if coming to some conclusion. Her eyes followed Akira's gaze to the bathroom. "Uhm, would you like for me to go in with you?"

_'I just want to be alone in there!'_

Akira tried say no, but her mouth wasn't working. She settled for shaking her head violently.

"Okay... how about..." Rukino-san looked around. "Oh, I know! Would you like me to stand guard out here? If anyone comes by, I'll tell em the bathroom's out of order?"

_'She'd do that? For me?'_

Almost disbelieving, Akira managed to timidly nod her head once.

"Understood!" Rukino-san propped herself up against the wall. "Have fun in there!"

Giving Rukino-san another look, Akira crept slowly into the bathroom.

* * *

When Akira got done with her business and came back out, Rukino-san was still there.

Akira stopped and stared at her for a moment. She'd been half-expecting the idol to have left, but no, there she was, still propped up against the wall, her eyes unfocused as if deep in thought.

_'Why can't Satomi be more like her...?'_

Rukino-san noticed her and looked over. "All done?"

Akira nodded, grateful, but also somewhat confused. Everything she'd read on Wired suggested that the idol was an arrogant loner who wasn't very interested in interacting with others. Was Wired-sensei wrong? It was hard to imagine. Akira knew to take what she read online with a grain of salt, but at the same time some truth usually emerged from large public forums.

"T-thanks... W-why...?"

"No problem!" Rukino-san smiled. "As for why... You looked kinda panicky back there. Did, uh, something bad happen to you before? In a bathroom, I mean?"

Akira cringed away from Rukino-san. Here came the questions... there was no way she'd be able to answer them!

_'Please, please don't ask!'_

"I guessed as much. Actually, something similar happened to me a while ago..." Rukino-san continued.

_'Huh?'_

"Well, more like a long time ago." Rukino-san's smile faded. "I think I was... oh, four or five years old? Anyways, I had a bad experience in a bathtub, and I haven't been able to handle being immersed in water since. Actually I've been skipping gym class whenever they had swimming, and I skipped a remedial swimming class too..."

 _'Why is she telling me all this?'_ Akira eyed Rukino-san carefully.

"Uhm, no, sorry, that was a lie!" Rukino-san suddenly held up her hands, looking sheepish. "Ah ha ha ha! I just said that to make you feel better! The real reason is, uhm... we first-years. Should stick together...?" Rukino-san finished lamely, scratching her head. "Sorry, I'm kinda new at this."

Akira stared at Rukino-san. Unexpectedly, Rukino-san was kind of weird! And 'first-years?' Did Rukino-san not realize who she was?

_'That bit about the bathtub didn't seem like a lie though... But then, who am I to tell? Maybe she just said it to try and make me feel better?'_

"T-thanks..." She mumbled again, unsure of what else to say.

Rukino-san nodded. "Any time!" She turned and started walking down the hall.

 _'That wasn't so bad...'_ Akira watched Rukino-san go.

"Oh yeah!" Rukino-san called back over her shoulder. "See you later at the pilot meeting!"

 _'Huh? She knew who I was all along?'_ Akira stared as Rukino-san walked out of sight.

Great, now she felt even more guilty about researching the idol for Shoko-chan...

END CHAPTER 5

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to xchrispx and Christemo for beta reading! (What's with all the Chrises? :p) And also to IzanagiMikoto for his feedback regarding some of Saki's characterization!**

**Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6 - Kamitsuki SCIENCE!

"Where could she be?" Haruto groaned again as he and Inuzuka-senpai made their way down the hall toward the storage bay.

"She'll turn up sooner or later, Haruto." Inuzuka-senpai said. "She used to skip class all the time, right? So she'll probably show up when she's ready."

"I know..." Haruto muttered. "I'm just worried, that's all..."

They'd searched for hours, checking dozens of classrooms across campus, the room that Haruto and Rukino-san shared, Rukino-san's old room, and even the shrine, although Haruto's stomach did flip-flops just walking up the stairs. Everywhere they had the same result.

No Rukino-san.

After a few hours, with the pilots' meeting coming up, they'd been forced to give up. It was a big module, after all. L-Elf had remained hidden for weeks in its depths, and if Rukino-san didn't want to be found, she wouldn't be found.

Haruto's hand slipped to his pocket, touching the bulge of Rukino-san's cell phone there. They'd all given up their cell phones at the beginning of their training, and when Haruto had gone to collect his after the firearms class was over, he'd found Rukino-san's phone there as well.

There had been a brief silence in the room after Rukino-san rushed out, and then the clamoring began, the students each wondering just what was going on. Inuzuka-senpai had been just as confused as everyone else, and Haruto, unable to tell them what was really going on, had fed them a modified version of the lie that Rukino-san had told him herself earlier-that she just needed some time to cool down after having been nearly killed in the last battle.

As luck would have it, the students accept the explanation readily. It was common knowledge that Carmilla had been badly damaged in the fighting, after all. And most of them seemed to realize that this wasn't a topic for juicy gossip. At least, Haruto hadn't seen anyone hurrying to their phones after training ended to excitedly text or call their friends.

_'Maybe this can still be contained... If they all keep it quiet, maybe no one else has to find out...'_

The thought made him immensely guilty. He'd already realized long ago he didn't have it in him to own up to what he did, but he'd thought all it would take was to keep silent about it. He'd marry Rukino-san and atone. As if that would somehow fix all their problems instantly. And yet here he was now, having to lie to his friends and actively cover things up.

_'I can't go on like this. At the very least I owe it to talk to Rukino-san about what happened.'_

That was what he'd do. At the first opportunity he'd talk to her. But first he had to get through the pilots' meeting. From the look of things, Rukino-san wouldn't be there. He could take the time to organize his thoughts, figure out what he wanted to say.

They arrived at the storage bay. Inuzuka-senpai punched in the entry code on the panel by the entrance, and the door slid open to reveal-

All five Valvraves units lined up in a row along the wall. Haruto's gaze was immediately drawn to Carmilla, whose damaged arm and leg had been replaced. The new limbs were still unpainted, and the white metallic armor stood out starkly against the green and black of the rest of the mech. One Spindle Knuckle was mounted above the new left arm, but the Spindle Knuckle that had been destroyed in the battle against Unit 2 had not been replaced. And only two extra legs were mounted on the back of the Valvrave's waist.

_'Looks like the engineers are doing a good job at repairs. But why are the Valvraves here? Is L-Elf planning on doing flight drills today?'_

L-Elf was already seated at the center table, along with Yamada, Otamaya-kun, and Kibukawa-sensei. Assuming Akira-chan was already in her Valvrave, all of them were present but Rukino-san.

"You two are late," L-Elf said.

"Yo, Haruto! Inuzuka!" Yamada lifted a hand in greeting.

"Hey, Thunder. Hey guys." Inuzuka-senpai responded as he and Haruto took their seats.

Haruto noticed that Yamada had his cell phone turn on and sitting conspiciously on the table in front of him. "What's up with the phone, Yamada? Waiting for a call?"

"It's Thunder! And yeah, kinda." Yamada jabbed his thumb over at the purple VVV VI. "Be easier for Rainbow in there to talk to us this way, yeah?"

"That's awfully considerate of you, Thunder. Didn't think you had it in ya," Inuzuka-senpai gave Yamada a mock congratulatory punch to the shoulder.

"Eh?" Yamada gave Inuzuka-senpai a blank look.

"Getting on nice with the girls, you're almost as much of a lady's man as my boy Haruto here!"

"Huh? No, man, it ain't like that!" Yamada protested. "We pilots are all bros now, ain't we? And bros gotta look out for each other! Supportive, like!"

"Suuuure, whatever you say, Thunder!" Inuzuka-senpai laughed and jokingly punched Yamada in the shoulder again.

Yamada rolled his eyes. "Shit, man. Whatever. It's in the bro code. You can save your shipping for the internet."

"Just waiting on Rukino-kun now..." Kibukawa-sensei said, eyeing Haruto. "I'm surprised you two didn't come in together."

"Actually, about Saki..." Haruto said hesitantly, "She's not coming to the meeting."

"Ahhh? Ruki's not coming?" Otamaya-kun sounded disappointed. "Why not? And we worked so hard on Carmilla, too!"

Haruto gulped. "Ah, well, she... she..."

"Yeah, Haruto. Why _aren't_ I coming to the meeting?" A voice sounded from behind him.

Haruto twisted his head around to see Rukino-san walking in through the door. "Saki? Sorry! I mean, I thought you weren't coming! You know, with what happened earlier!"

"Nope, I'm doing fine now, so you don't need to-" Rukino-san paused as she caught sight of Carmilla. Squealing, she ran over to the Valvrave and hugged one massive foot. "CARMILLA! You're all better! ...Sorta, your leg's a different color." She stepped back and craned her neck back. "And you're still missing a Knuckle and your other legs! Well, hang in there, girl! I'm sure Otamaya-kun and the others will fix you up soon!" She looked over at Otamaya-kun. "Right?"

"Right!" Otamaya-kun sat up straighter. "Well, actually, we're having some problems with that..."

"Oh?" Rukino-san flopped into her seat. "Do tell!"

"It's like this," Kibukawa-sensei explained. "The Valvraves appear to have been designed modularly. The basic chassis for all five units is the same, and that's good because we have a plentiful supply of parts. That's how we were able to replace the arm and leg. But the specialized equipment that's unique to each model is different. There don't seem to be any spares of those lying around."

"So Carmilla can't be fixed...?" Rukino-san looked crestfallen.

"Not never," Kibukawa-sensei said. "There's some machine shops in the Module that we THINK can produce the Spindle Knuckle and legs for the Multi-Leg Spine, and it all seems automated, but we're not sure how to get the machinery online. It seems to be password-protected, and we've all come up bust at trying to crack it. L-Elf got the farthest, but..."

"I found the software to be protected by very robust security systems." L-Elf took over. "It seems the operating system for the machinery is designed to wipe itself clean if it detects someone trying to access the system by force. I am not confident that my current skills are enough to break into the system, however."

"I see... I think." Rukino-san nodded. "So you're not sure when, huh?"

Haruto watched Rukino-san closely during the exchange. She seemed cheerful enough, but...

_'She's faking it. I think... No, She's definitely faking it. I can tell now!'_

Now that he'd lived with Saki for a few days, Haruto had noticed her voice tended to take on a certain... cadence when she was lying. A certain roughness when she wasn't being truthful. And right now, Saki's voice had that tone in spades.

"Rest assured, Rukino Saki," L-Elf said. "We will restore Unit Four to full combat readiness. Its full potential will be needed in the future."

"Her name's Carmilla..." Rukino-san grumbled.

L-Elf ignored her. "How that everyone is present, shall we get started? I think it's about time we figured out exactly how your Kamitsuki powers work."

"Fair enough." Haruto said.

"We know that you're resistant to injury and you can survive what should be mortal wounds..." L-Elf mused. "Although I suspect you could still be killed by a bullet to the brain..."

"We're not zombies." Rukino-san put in.

"...or decapitation." L-Elf went on as if she hadn't said anything.

"Decapitation sounds more reasonable." Rukino-san allowed.

_'Well, this is getting morbid.'_

"Hey, L-Elf, you're not actually gonna test that, are you?" Haruto winced.

"No, no. Of course not." L-Elf shook his head. "If it worked and one of you actually died, we'd be down a pilot... although it would be useful to know how far the regeneration went. For instance, if you could regrow severed limbs..."

"You want to DISSECT US?" Rukino-san was outraged. "We're not your lab rats!"

"You ain't cuttin' THUNDER like some farm animal!" Yamada growled at L-Elf.

"L-Elf, that's going a little far..." Inuzuka-senpai said.

The phone in front of Yamada bleeped. He shot another dirty look at L-Elf, picked the phone up, opened his mouth to read, and then burst out in laughter, doubling over in his chair and clutching his belly.

Haruto looked over at Yamada nervously. "Uh, Thunder? Are you okay?"

"BWA HA HA HA HA!" Yamada was still laughing uncontrollably. He managed to straighten up, and turned halfway in his seat to look at VVV VI. "That's great, Rainbow! That ain't half bad! You ain't as stuck up as that brother of yours, that's for sure!"

They waited to see if Akira-chan would respond. But her Valvrave was silent.

"Uhm, Ya... Thunder." Haruto was intrigued despite himself. "What did she text?"

"You can read it for yourself." Yamada slid the cell phone towards Haruto. "And send it to L-Elf when you're done. I ain't never been no messenger for anyone else and I ain't about to start now."

"Huh, but weren't you just about to read her text?" Otamaya-kun asked in confusion.

"Nah, man! Texts are fine, but this ain't no ordinary text! It's a put down! A message! If you wanna put someone else down you gotta do it yourself! You don't ask someone else to deliver your disses!"

Haruto spun the phone around to face him and looked at the screen.

 **RAINBOW:** you can go choke on a bag of dicks you inbred dorssian mongoloid

 _'Waaaaah. That's pretty vulgar. Not what I expected at all. And she's Renbokoji-senpai's sister?'_ Haruto grimaced. Should he send the phone on to L-Elf? What if the One Man Army took offense? But Yamada was looking at him expectantly, so...

"'Inbred?'" L-Elf muttered to himself after Haruto handed him the phone.

"Well, you did say you wanted to cut our limbs off..." Inuzuka-senpai chided.

"It was merely a thought." L-Elf seemed annoyed. "Besides, Tokishima Haruto has already been in a situation where being able to regrow a severed limb would be useful."

"That's true..." Haruto muttered. "But, L-Elf, that still seems extreme. If we're going to test the regeneration, shouldn't we start with something a little simpler?"

"I wasn't intending to test the regeneration at all. It's far too risky. A few questions will do, for now."

"Oh. Okay." Rukino-san propped her chin on her hand. "Fire away."

"First we need to make sure you're on the same page." L-Elf turned to Yamada and Inuzuka-senpai. Yamada Raizo. Inuzuka Kyuma. Renbokoji Akira. Have you three all experienced the same accelerated regeneration rates as Tokishima Haruto and Rukino Saki?"

"I have." Inuzuka-senpai nodded.

"Me too." Yamada said. His phone bleeped and he looked at it. "And Rainbow says yes."

"Good." L-Elf said. "Next question: Tokishima Haruto, Rukino Saki, do you remember what happened to the bullets in your body after you were shot?"

_'That's a good question. What DID happen to those bullets?'_

"I'm not sure..." Haruto admitted. "They just kinda disappeared."

"I know." Rukino-san volunteered. "After I got shot in the hanger, my body kind of just... pushed them out. I found some of the bullets in Carmilla's cockpit after."

"I see." L-Elf made some notes on his tablet. "So implanting tracking devices in you will be problematic... maybe if you swallowed them... Next question, have any of you cut your hair or shaved since you became a Kamitsuki?"

Haruto looked around the table. Yamada shook his head. After a moment, Rukino-san slowly raised her hand.

"Yeah. I've been shaving my legs... Normally."

_'Huh. Is that what she spends all that time in the bathroom doing?'_

"And the hair didn't grow back immediately?"

"Nope. Like I said, it was normal."

_'Oh, that's what he's going for!'_

"My fingernails have been growing normally too," Haruto put in. "It seems like only our living tissue regenerates."

"Hmm. Guess we're not Rice vampires. Good thing, too." Saki combed her fingers through her hair distractedly.

"""What?""" Everyone around the table gave her an odd look.

"Well, you know! I wouldn't want to rock that shaggy untamed look for the rest of eternity. You could probably pull it off, Haruto. Your hair's already a little wild, but as for me..." Rukino-san trailed off, seeing everyone's expression. "...Uh, don't mind me."

"Right..." Haruto said. Sometimes Saki went on such weird tangents. He had the feeling that maybe she was alot more into vampires than she let on.

* * *

Chamca wiped his lips with his napkin and sat back in his chair, letting out a contented sigh. He was very full. "You set a wonderful table, Princess."

The teenage girl sitting across the table from him in the cavernous dining room smiled demurely. "Nothing but the best for such an argent supporter of Dorssia the Great, Colonel. Although I am afraid I can only take credit for inviting you; I was not the one who prepared the meal."

Chamca nodded. "Speaking of invitations, surely you must have had some reason to ask me here, Princess?" He would rather have dispensed with the double talk, but it was necessary. The servants on the estate were discreet, but it wouldn't do any good to have them overhear anything they weren't supposed to.

"You would not believe it was just for the pleasure of your company?" The girl teased.

Chamca chuckled. "At any other time, maybe. But with current events as they are, no."

"I see," The girl's face grew serious. "In that case, would you be so kind as to secure our privacy, Colonel?"

Chamca smiled. Such a request was child's play for him, given the nature of his abilities. Where he lacked in raw power compared to most Magius, he made up with finesse. And although the Magius within the girl sitting across from him far outmatched him in brute strength, keeping out prying ears was beyond her abilities.

"Certainly, Princess." He laid his napkin down and mumbled a quick spell. The remnants of their lunch took on a green shade as they were bathed in the Light of Rune. Just for good measure (and to show off a little), he threw in another spell, isolating the locking mechanisms in the two doors from kinetic force and preventing anyone from walking in on them. "No one will be able to overhear us now-or enter the room, for that matter."

The girl eyed the faint jade bubble glimmering around them and the table. "You have not cut off our air supply as well, I hope?"

"Only sonic vibrations are being blocked. The air molecules themselves can still pass through the field."

"Ah... such a delicate touch you have, Chamca! If only I could do half the things you could..."

_'Oh? She's trying to butter me up?'_

Chamca waggled a finger playfully at the girl. "Flattery won't get you anywhere, Alo. But if you really want to be impressed, I could do the windows too."

"That's a shame." Alo smiled wryly. "I do not think blocking the windows will be necessary. A spell to cut off all that light would be quite a drain on your Runes, I should think."

"Actually I was just going to close the curtains..."

Alo giggled. "Ah, Chamca. I've missed you. We really should have lunch more often."

"We should. Although I'm not sure the Council would approve of regular visitations for you. I had to get special dispensation from the Vicereine herself to be here today. It was a lot of trouble..."

Not nearly all that much trouble as he pretended, Chamca reflected. The newfound favor he was receiving for his work translated into all sorts of perks, among others the ability to visit the Council's prisoners whenever he liked.

"Sorry to trouble you." Alo looked down. "I merely wished to speak to you in person."

"Don't worry about it. Your isolation is a fitting punishment for your crimes, after all. So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yes. A fitting punishment." Alo hesitated a moment, then reached for her teacup. "I understand your next operation against Module 77 begins soon."

"It does. In five days, in fact. And even as we speak I have a team en route to acquiring the final assets needed."

Alo took a sip of her tea. "Indeed. I was most surprised to learn that you would be remaining here in Dorssiana, instead of commanding the mission."

_'Were you now? And where did a prisoner who is supposed to be isolated under house arrest hear something like that?'_

Chamca wasn't very surprised that Alo still cultivated her own intelligence networks. He'd do the same thing if he was in her situation. Still, for her to be doing such a thing came close to violating the terms of her captivity...

_'Ah well, it hardly matters. Being confined to this estate would be boring with only publically available information. Alo agreed to her punishment, and even though she committed a crime, she's no traitor.'_

"You're right. Kichuksana will be calling the shots. It's his Phantom, after all, and I agree with the human Naval tradition that a commanding officer should retain command over their own ships."

"And yet Kichuksana will be 'calling the shots' according to your script." Alo pressed. Her tone indicated it wasn't a question.

"Yes, that's right. And why not? I came up with the operation, after all!" Chamca said.

"Oh, I think it is more than that..." Alo looked at him craftily. "Those JIORans are more resourceful than one might suspect... in case the operation fails, perhaps Kichuksana will find himself shouldering the blame?"

Chamca had to laugh. Alo knew him too well. "Alright, alright. That too." He admitted.

"As I thought. You have always been fond of contingency plans."

"Mmm." Chamca shrugged.

"And since you are the one really in command," Alo continued, "I would like to beg for clemency on behalf of the inhabitants of Module 77..."

Chamca sighed. He'd had a feeling it might be something like this. "Alo, you had the chance to vote in Council, and you were outvoted then."

"Yes, but most of the Councilers do not understand." Alo said, a bit of frustration creeping into her host's voice. "They look at the situation and only see a means to advance themselves. They do not see that the beings on that Module are now more similar to us now than to the humans-"

"Only superficially," Chamca cut her off. "You heard the testimony from the Professor. Any similarity to us is only due to the humans trying to copy our traits. The JIORans just wanted to use them for their weapons. They don't share our history; they couldn't possibly be Magius, even if we gave them the chance to."

"There was a time in our history when we were just used as weapons, too." Alo pointed out. "Some of us, not even that. You yourself should know."

"But we overcame that," Chamca objected. "We broke free of our shackles and built our own destiny here on this world. That's what makes us Magius. These modified humans had the same opportunity as us and look what they've done! They declared independance and then go on calling themselves 'New JIOR.' They're still slaves to the system that created them!"

"We did not build our own destiny all by ourselves." Alo said, her tone beginning to grow heated. "You say we broke free of our shackles, and yet most of us did not even dream of such a thing as freedom until Daitya led us to it! Where would we be today without her leadership?"

"I don't see how that relates to the creatures on the Module."

"What if all they need is a leader to show them the way?"

"Ah, and of course, you'd be that leader, right?"

"I did not say that." Alo crossed her host's arms and frowned at him.

Chamca sighed in annoyance. Why couldn't Alo see the holes in her own proposals? Was she really so blinded by idealism? She really HAD changed. "Well, one of us would have to lead them. And who's to say they would accept our leadership to begin with? And even if, for the sake of argument, they DID accept our leadership, there's some 400 'Homo sapiens novus' on that Module. You know that there's only around 600 of us left. How could we possibly absorb so many new members without having our way of life and our identity as a people irrevocably altered?"

Alo looked away. "Perhaps our identity as a people could use some altering..." She muttered.

That did it. "I don't want to hear any more about this," Chamca said. "I didn't come here to have an argument with you. For what it's worth, this operation will not be one of eradication. Per the Council's directive to harvest the modified humans, I have already given orders to all involved to avoid combat and that enemy casualties are to be kept to a minimum, except where Magius lives are at stake. This even applies to any Valvrave pilots the task force may encounter in battle. Is that satisfactory to you?"

"Yes." Alo bit out. Clearly, she realized it was pointless to push the point any further. "That is satisfactory."

"Will there be anything else?" Chamca prepared to let his spell drop.

"...Yes, actually." Alo said, her demeanor suddenly changing. Her fire from a moment ago was gone, and she suddenly looked hesitant and unsure. "I was wondering... if there was any news about my grandson's captivity. I am concerned about his safety as a prisoner on the Module after the gas attack... and with his recent injury, he may not..."

"Your 'grandson.'" Chamca echoed.

"My..." Alo paused. "Did I say 'grandson?'"

"You did."

"I am sorry." Alo tapped her forehead with the heel of her hand. "I was confused. I have only been in this body for 12 years, after all... I meant my 'cousin,' not 'grandson...'

"'Your' cousin." Chamca echoed again.

"My _host's_ cousin." Alo corrected.

Chamca sighed, this time in pity. "I've had no word about Prince Gabriel, no. But I don't think they'll hurt him. JIORans are pacifists as a general rule and I don't see them killing a prisoner, even if he's associated with the chemical attack. And once the Module is depopulated, any prisoners they've taken will go to ARUS as part of their role in the occupation. I'll be sure to have Gabriel repatrioted once that happens. I'm quite fond of the boy myself, you know. He's very loyal."

Alo nodded. "Thank you, Chamca."

Chamca sighed again. "My pleasure. Will you take some advice, Alo? From a friend?"

Alo studied him carefully. "Of course. I am always open to friendly advice."

"How long have you been a Custodian now, Alo?" Chamca asked.

"How long...?" Alo pursed her host's lips, thinking. "It will have been... 268 years coming up this fall."

"And how long were you in your previous host? Prince Gabriel's grandmother."

"Lady Henrieta? Uh... 78 years."

"And the one before that?"

"Lord Nataniel? 52 years, I think..."

Chamca folded his host's hands on the table. "You know, most people don't keep a host for longer than a decade or two. Maybe 30 years, at most, if the host is particularly useful. I myself have only inhabited this Cain Dressel for the past 10 years and I'm already considering my next vessel." He smiled ruefully to himself as he contemplated the factors that had put L-Elf out of his reach. "It's not healthy to stay in your hosts for so long, Alo. You start to associate with them a little too much. And there's always the risk of sudden host death when they get too old... You don't want to go like that, do you? Accidentally trapped in a host who has a stroke or a heart attack, unable to transfer out?"

"I know all that," Alo said, a little defensively. "What are you suggesting then? That I become like Dosi and change bodies at the drop of a hat?"

"Dosi's an extreme case," Chamca admitted. "But that's not what I'm suggesting. You've done well as a Custodian these past few centuries. The Dorssia Family's influence has grown from strength to strength and no one can fault your work record. But maybe it's time for a change."

"What kind of change do you mean?"

"After you've served your sentence here, you could retire as a Custodian, take a field post again." Chamca smiled. "I'd love to have you back by my side, just like old times."

"Old times, huh..." The teenaged princess across the table smiled back at him, and for a moment Chamca could see a hint of the old Alo in those young, delicate features. "Facing down those French knights from horseback, sword in hand... I remember that one time where I had to pull you out of that ditch. The mud kept trickling down your visor into your eyes but your gauntlets prevented you from rubbing them clean... and even your spells were no use. You were not nearly so precise back then..."

"Ohhh, don't remind me..." Chamca groaned. "You were just as powerful back then as you are now, though. Inspired quite a few folk tales in your time."

"Yes," Alo looked down at her host's hands. "I did at that, did I not?"

They sat in silence for a little while, lost in reminiscence. Chamca eventually spoke.

"So, think about it, Alo?"

Alo nodded. "I will, Chamca. Thank you."

Chamca nodded back. He let his spell drop, and as the emerald glow surrounded them faded, he settled back into his role as the human, Cain Dressel. "Thank you for your hospitality, Princess Liselotte. It was a pleasure having lunch with you."

"It was a pleasure for me as well, Colonel." The teenager across the table inclined her head politely. "Blitzendegen."

* * *

"On to jacking then." L-Elf said. "Tokishima Haruto and Rukino Saki have both demonstrated its use. How about the rest of you?"

"I haven't... Sorry, didn't really get a chance to." Inuzuka-senpai said.

Silence from VVV VI.

"Heh heh heh heh..." Yamada chuckled, and then burst out into loud maniacal laughter. "WAH HA HA HA HA HA!"

"Uwah!" Rukino-san gave Yamada a dirty look. "What the hell? Don't just start laughing like that!"

Yamada shot to his feet and jabbed a thumb at his own chest. "Feast your eyes on the Great Thunder, Top Dog and Bodyjacking Champion of Sakimori High! While you all been studying and playing kissy-face, I been jacking people all over the Module! Even ARUS military people! Hahahahaha!" He threw a pose like something out of a sentai show.

Haruto stared at Yamada in horror. _'Kissy-face, he thinks we've been...!'_ He could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks.

Rukino-san was also staring at Yamada in horror, but for a different reason entirely. "Hey... dumbass... did you give any thought to what might happen if you screwed up and got caught? We could've all been busted!"

"What'd you call me?" Yamada was outraged.

"A dumbass. Dumb. Ass."

"Eh, screw you, ya singing bitch! I ain't about to get caught! I got GUTS on my side!"

"What does that even mean?"

"Ahem." L-Elf cleared his throat loudly. "If we could stop getting sidetracked... Yamada Raizo, it's a security risk for you to be jacking people by yourself. From now on you will do so in conjunction with myself or one of the others here, is that understood?"

"Che..." Yamada capitulated with poor grace, sitting back down and mumbling. "I bet you're all just jealous of me, you bastards."

"That being said, your experience is not without value," L-Elf continued. "Did you collect any data from your forays?"

"Data? Whaddaya mean?"

"Such as how many people did you jack, and how long the effect lasted, anything along those lines?"

"Uhhhhhh..." Yamada scratched his head. "How many people... like, a dozen? More? I didn't exactly keep track."

"What about duration? Did you find any kind of time limit?

"I dunno, man! I wasn't keeping track of time!" Yamada grumbled. "I got better things to do in girls' bodies than look at some clock, you know what I mean?"

 _'Please, don't let him mean what I think he meant...'_ Haruto stared at Yamada in horror again.

There was silence around the table. And then Rukino-san buried her face in her hands. "Oh good grief, he's so useless..."

* * *

In Little Witch's cockpit, Akira stared at Thunder, her mouth fixed in a scowl. "Pervert..."

* * *

"Eh? What? What?" Yamada looked around in confusion. "What'd I say?"

L-Elf deliberately turned away from Yamada towards Inuzuka-senpai. "Inuzuka Kyuma, since you have not bodyjacked anyone, I'll be making use of you for the tests today."

"Understood." Inuzuka-senpai nodded.

"And now I need a volunteer. Someone to bodyjack Inuzuka Kyuma."

"Sorry, I ain't interested in jacking other men. 'Less I gotta." Yamada crossed his arms.

 _'Should I...?'_ Haruto hesitated. Jacking enemies was one thing, but jacking his friends was something else entirely. It felt too much like attacking them, and it made him feel more and more like a monster. He didn't want to hurt Inuzuka-senpai, even if Senpai volunteered for it...

He caught a brief glimpse of Rukino-san watching him. He opened his mouth to speak, but by then it was too late: she was in motion.

"Oooo! Pick me! Me!" Rukino-san flailed her arm in the air. "Being a boy is fun!"

L-Elf nodded. "Very well, Rukino Saki, go ahead and jack Inuzuka Kyuma."

 _'Did Saki volunteer because I hesitated?'_ Haruto wasn't fooled by her eager demeanor. He'd caught a glimpse of the concern flitting over Saki's delicate features as she'd watched him.

 _'Does she know how much I hate hurting my friends, and that's why she volunteered? To protect me?'_ Haruto didn't like that one bit. Saki was always going on about lab rats, so she clearly didn't like being experimented on. Even if they weren't actually married yet, he was her husband now, right? And wasn't it the duty of the husband to protect his wife? So why was he being protected by her now? He couldn't do anything right, it seemed.

Saki was looming over a stoic-faced Inuzuka-senpai. "Thanks for the meal!" She murmured, and Haruto caught a glimpse of pearly fangs flashing between her lips as they closed over the skin of Inuzuka-senpai's neck. Something like jealousy flashed through him, contrasting strangely with the guilt in his belly.

Rukino-san's body wobbled and started to fall, but Yamada was there to catch her and ease her into her seat. Inuzuka-senpai slumped forward onto the table. A moment later, his eyes opened again.

"Jacking complete!" 'Inuzuka-senpai' said. He immediately started to dig around in his pockets.

"Uh, Saki, what are you doing?" Haruto asked.

"Boooooo, he's just got his cell phone in here." 'Inuzuka-senpai' grumbled. "I thought they'd be full of money with how he always goes on..."

"Ah... Ruki..." Otamaya-kun said. "You're not gonna rob Inuzuka-senpai, are you?"

"Why not? He could spread the wealth a little..." 'Inuzuka-senpai' caught the look of distress on Otamaya-kun's face. "Nah, of course not! I was just kidding! Hahaha!"

"Rukino Saki," L-Elf said. "Please board Unit Five and start it up."

They watched as 'Inuzuka-senpai' rode the zipline up the blue Valvrave and hop into its cockpit. A moment later, the green crest atop its head flared to life and 'Inuzuka-senpai's' voice came over its speakers. "What am I looking for in here?"

"Please operate Unit Five's shields." L-Elf said.

"Sure. Uhhhh, just one sec, the controls in here are different from Carmilla's... Let's see..." They could hear 'Inuzuka-senpai' muttering from inside the cockpit.

"Okay, you can come out now." L-Elf typed some notes into his tablet.

"Unh? But I haven't..."

"It's fine, come on out."

"Oooookay. Whatever you say..."

Haruto watched as 'Inuzuka-senpai' popped back out of VVV V's cockpit. He glanced at L-Elf, who was nodding to himself as if he'd confirmed a theory.

_'What's he up to...?'_

After that, L-Elf directed Rukino-san to transfer back into her body, and then had Inuzuka-senpai jack her and get into Carmilla. Upon startup, the white surfaces on Carmilla's new limbs shaded into shiny black.

As it turned out, Inuzuka-senpai in Rukino-san's body didn't know how to operate Carmilla either.

"That's weird!" Haruto said, once both Rukino-san and Inuzukua-senpai were back in their normal bodies. "I thought the jacking gave us the abilities of the person we took over. So why couldn't you two use each others' Valvraves?"

"As I understand it," L-Elf said, "You all instinctively knew how to pilot the Valvraves when you first got into them. You had never taken part in any flight or training simulations, correct?"

"Yea, that's right." Yamada nodded.

"My working hypothesis right now is that when you were 'registered' as the Valvraves' pilots, you were imprinted with the knowledge of how to operate them. But this imprinting was done not on your bodies, but your..." L-Elf's brow furrowed. "Call it a 'soul,' a 'spirit,' whatever that portion of you is that transfers when you jack someone. That's why Tokishima Haruto could operate Unit One while in my body, but you couldn't operate each others' units just now."

Haruto nodded. That made sense, but... why was it done that way?

Rukino-san groaned. "Great, so we've got needlessly complicated Rules. Should I start writing this down?"

L-Elf tapped his tablet. "Already am. I've only got one more test and then we're done for today."

After a quick explanation of what he wanted them to do, Rukino-san and Inuzuka-senpai were seated next to each other, their index fingers stuck in each others' mouths.

"Well... dish ishnt awkward or anyshin..." Rukino-san muttered.

"No, not ach all..." Inuzuka-senpai rolled his eyes at L-Elf.

"Now bite each other on one." L-Elf said. "Three... two... one!"

Both the pilots bit down, then slumped over at the same time. A moment later...

"Oh wow, that was weird." Rukino-san straightened up, holding her head.

"Ugh... that was different from usual." Inuzuka-senpai sat up as well. "What happened...?"

"Gimmie a sec... L-Elf was explaining what he wanted, and then?"

"It's just a blank for me. You don't remember either?"

"What the hell are you two babbling about?" Yamada growled. "And did it work? Who's who in there?"

"Saki here." Inuzuka-senpai raised his hand.

"I'm Kyuma." Rukino-san said.

"What were you two talking about?" Kibukawa-sensei wanted to know.

"I can't remember-"

"Somehow I'm in Senpai's body-"

"When you get jacked," L-Elf explained, "There's some kind of retrograde amnesia. Both times I was jacked by Tokishima Haruto, I had no memory going back several seconds before the event. I collaborated it with Tokishima Haruto weeks ago, and he says he had a similar experience when he was jacked by Rukino Saki."

Haruto nodded. The last thing he'd remembered was Rukino-san telling him it was a lie, and then he was awake in his own bed in the middle of the night.

"In any event," L-Elf continued, "Double-jacking seems to be a success. Now all you need to do is-"

"Hey, L-Elf." 'Rukino-san' said, staring at her finger. "I think we have a problem."

"What is it?"

'Rukino-san' held up her finger in response.

Haruto stared at the slender finger in shock. Just between the second and third joints, bright red blood was welling up slowly from a puncture wound. And it didn't seem to be stopping.

"Me too." 'Inuzuka-senpai' also held out a bleeding finger.

_'They're not healing?'_

Rather than looking troubled, L-Elf merely nodded. "This confirms my hypothesis. Let's continue with the test. I need you both to get into the Valvraves of your current body."

"But... they're not HEALING, L-Elf!" Haruto said loudly. "Can't you see there's something wrong with them?"

L-Elf gave Haruto a look that came very close to smugness. "They didn't heal rapidly before they became Kamitsuki, did they? Such a small wound would be inconsequential even if they WERE humans, and yet you've become alarmed because of it. Have you gotten so used to being a monster that you object to a display of their humanity, Tokishima Haruto?"

"That, that's not-" Haruto stammered. _'Is it true? Am I coming to accept that I'm a monster?'_

"Knock it off, L-Elf!" 'Inuzuka-senpai' growled. "Haruto's just concerned about us. And you should be concerned too. If we don't get our healing back and die, you'll be down a precious pilot, right?"

"Calm down, Rukino Saki," L-Elf said. "If my hypothesis is correct-and it is, you should regain your healing ability once you are back in your own body."

"I can't trust that."

"Come on, Rukino-san," 'Rukino-san' said placatingly. "We're already swapped, aren't we? Might as well see this through to the end."

"If you say so, Senpai... but definitely not 'cause HE said so." 'Inuzuka-senpai' gave in grudgingly.

Haruto shook his head. _'All this bodyswapping and names is gonna take some getting used to...'_

Following L-Elf's instructions, the two bodyswapped pilots each got into a Valvrave. 'Inuzuka-senpai' into VVV V and 'Rukino-san' into Carmilla. There was silence for a moment, and then the two popped their heads out of the Valvraves' hatches again.

"It's not starting up!"

"I'm not getting any reaction."

"What does it look like in there?" L-Elf called up.

"I hit the startup button," 'Rukino-san' yelled. "But after that it just sits on that raven logo. Unit Four's not starting up, and none of the controls work."

"She's Carmilla!" 'Inuzuka-senpai huffed. "And I'm getting the same thing. It's not even going to the 'Do you resign as a human being?' screen. It just freezes up."

"Thank you. You can come down now." L-Elf said. He turned to Kibukawa-sensei. "It also seems like the units aren't keyed to the pilots' biosigns, but rather to their 'souls' or whatever factor causes the possession effect. When one Kamitsuki possesses another, the possessor can activate the possessee's Valvrave, because the possessee is present. But if the 'souls' are swapped, they can no longer operate that Valvrave."

"I dunno what all you're yammering about," Yamada said, "But what I'm getting is: nobody can use Nobu Lightning but me, that right?"

"...Yes." L-Elf said.

"Sweet!" Yamada pumped his arm up and down.

Haruto watched as the two pilots clambered out of their cockpits and over to the ziplines. As 'Rukino-san' started to descend on the line, she suddenly snatched her hand back from where it had been holding onto Carmilla's armor. "Oh hell," she exclaimed. "Broke a nail!"

"AGH! SENPAI, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" 'Inuzuka-senpai' bellowed from his position half-way down VVV V.

"S-sorry, Rukino-san!"

"Sorry won't cut it! That won't heal back even if I'm in my body, will it? Ahhh! Now I have to use a press-on!"

Both the pilots were near the ground by now. 'Inuzuka-senpai' dropped the last four feet to the floor and rushed over to 'Rukino-san,' who was fiddling with the broken nail. "No, don't mess with it! Lemmie see!" He grabbed roughly onto 'Rukino-san's' wrist and jerked her hand towards him.

"GWUH!" A short surprised sound burst from 'Rukino-san's lips. She wrenched her hand free of 'Inuzuka-senpai's grasp and danced back a few steps, huddling back against Carmilla's leg and gulping down air. Her eyes darted rapidly between 'Inuzuka-senpai' and the rest of the people in the room. "What the hell? WHAT THE HELL?"

'Inuzuka-senpai' had backed off, his gaze fixed on 'Rukino-san,' his face pale. "Senpai? It even...?"

 _'It can't be...'_ Haruto was horrified. _'If Senpai finds out from Rukino-san's memories... but no, no. He can't. That's not how it works, is it?'_ L-Elf's body had started crying on its own when he found "Licht's" picture, and Haruto hadn't had any clue why he'd cried, or what the girl meant to L-Elf. He was safe. The realization made him feel conflicted, both guilty and relieved at the same time, and he looked down in shame.

"What in the HELL is going on?!" 'Rukino-san' screamed. "I can't, I can't... What the hell did you DO?!"

The last question didn't seem to be addressed to anyone in particular; 'Rukino-san' was turned halfway between 'Inuzuka-senpai' and the table where everyone else was sitting. Nonetheless, Haruto felt as if Inuzuka-senpai had demanded an answer from him personally.

_'It's my fault, but what can I say? Tell Senpai that I raped Rukino-san and now she's all messed up?'_

"Hey, shhhh shhhh shhhh..." 'Inuzuka-senpai' was approaching 'Rukino-san,' making soothing noises. "Senpai? Just calm down. Take it easy. We'll do the swap thing and you'll be back in your own body in no time, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah..." 'Rukino-san' put a hand to her chest, still breathing rapidly. "Sorry, I'm just... Wow. Is this what happened in the classroom earlier? L-Elf, did you know this would happen?"

"No, that was beyond my expectations..." L-Elf muttered. "It seems like the physical capabilities of the body aren't all that carry over..."

It took several minutes more before 'Rukino-san' was calm enough to double jack again. Finally, both Rukino-san and Inuzuka-senpai were in their proper bodies, the bite wounds on their fingers healing up rapidly, just as L-Elf had promised.

Inuzuka-senpai, however, wouldn't let the topic drop.

"Rukino-san, listen... about what's going on with you..."

"Thanks for the concern, Senpai, but I'm fine." Rukino-san smiled cheerily.

"But if you're having PTSD or something, you really should-"

"Just drop it, Senpai. I said I'm fine." Rukino-san's expression became stony.

"I just mean that... maybe if you talked to someone-" Inuzuka-senpai tried again.

Rukino-san's hands hit the table with a loud SLAM! "I SAID I'M FINE!"

Inuzuka-senpai shut up. But his eyes sought Haruto on the other side of the table. Haruto met his gaze and nodded.

_'After all, this is happening because of me!'_

"Saki, at least WE should talk-" He began.

"Not you too, Haruto!" Saki exclaimed. She stood up huffily and started towards the door. "I'm done here."

Haruto watched her go, his heart torn with indecision. Saki was coming apart at the seams, and he had to do something about it. But on the other hand, if she didn't want to talk about it, what could he do?

 _'I have to go after her,'_ he realized. _'That's what taking responsibility means. Taking action. Not just throwing a marriage proposal at her and hoping it all just works out somehow. This is something I have to do!'_

"Everyone, please excuse me!" Haruto bolted out of his chair and took off.

He caught up with Saki a little ways down the hall. For an instant, he was afraid she'd run again, like in the classroom, but she just looked up at him as he approached, her violet eyes guarded, careful.

"Saki, I know you don't want to talk about it, but please, we have to do SOMETHING! You can't keep going on like this! If we go-"

Saki glared at him. He heard her inhale sharply, and for a moment he thought she would yell at him again, but she suddenly sagged and the breath she'd sucked in came out as a long, shuddering sigh. "I know. I can't keep this up. It's ridiculous, right? I mean, even my body's..." She looked around, as if realizing where they were. "Not here though, Haruto. Back in our room, okay?"

Haruto nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

* * *

Saki looked across the narrow gap between their beds to where Haruto was sitting.

_'So near, and yet so far...'_

If she just moved her leg a little, her knee would touch Haruto's.

The two were sitting slightly offset from one another. Haruto was huddled into himself, peering nervously down at the steaming mug in his hands. He'd insisted on them changing into more comfortable clothes, and then on making tea for the two of them after they got home, probably in order to delay the conversation they had to have. Saki understood the sentiment. Now that they'd come to it, it was incredibly difficult to start, to open her mouth and speak.

_'Get on with it, girl! Or are you really going to just sit here sipping your tea and pretend like everything's okay? You've already been playing house for the last few days and look where that got you!'_

She forced herself to open her mouth. "Haruto, about wha-"

"Saki, I'm sor-" Haruto looked up and spoke at the same instant.

They both broke off. Haruto gazed down at his mug again. "Sorry, you first."

"Alrighty." Saki took a moment to collect her thoughts again, setting her tea aside. "Haruto, about what happened that night... I know that you're probably beating yourself up over it, and I want to let you know that I don't hold you responsible..."

"You don't hold..." Haruto gave her a look of disbelief. "But I WAS responsible, don't you see? It's because of me that you-"

"Haruto, we both know it was a Kamitsuki attack. You're not the one at fault!" Saki cut Haruto off, putting a finger to his lips.

Haruto flinched away from her finger. "That's not what I mean, Saki! Let me finish, please!"

Saki blinked. Normally Haruto backed down when she shushed him like that. "Sorry. Go ahead."

"I'm the one that started this whole thing. With the Valvraves, and everything!" The words poured from Haruto's mouth in a rush. "Yeah, I know, Dorssia attacked us first and all that, but I'm the one that decided to get in the Valvrave. When it asked if I was willing to stop being human, I'm the one that answered 'yes!' So I can't just... hide behind that excuse, that it was 'just a Kamitsuki attack,' because I pressed that button! And it's because of me that everything's gotten so screwed up like this!"

"But you did it because you were trying to save everyone from the Dorssians, right?" Saki asked. "So it's okay if-"

"BUT I WASN'T!" Haruto exploded. "You know what the worst part is? Everyone thinks I did it for some... some ideal... or wanting to protect people. But at the time, I couldn't have cared less about you or Aina-chan or Inuzuka-senpai, or anyone else! You all could have died and I wouldn't have batted an eye! All I wanted right then was to kill as many of those Dorssian bastards as I could. Because they... they took Shoko away from me!"

Saki could do nothing but sit and stare. The sheer amount of self-loathing in Haruto's tone stunned her into speechlessness. Haruto plowed on, his voice shaking.

"So you see, it IS my fault. I threw away my humanity for the sake of revenge. That's why I'm cursed, I think. That's why only I get the... the... You and Inuzuka-senpai and, and everyone else, you all did it to help people, and that's why you don't get any attacks. But me, I did it so I could HURT people. And now I can't take it back, because the curse turned me into the monster that I always was, deep down inside. My friends... other people have to bear the cost for me, and I'm... if I could take it on myself, that'd be fine. But why? Why do other people have to suffer for my choices?"

Saki found her voice. "Haruto, listen to me." She rose and crossed the gap between them, moving to Haruto's side and sitting down on the side of his bed. "Haruto... even if you didn't pilot the Valvrave to protect everyone the first time, that's why you're doing it now, isn't it? To protect everyone? So that's what matters NOW. Besides, I didn't exactly have the most noble intentions when I got in Carmilla for the first time either..." She trailed off. What should she say in a situation like this? She felt so helpless.

_'It's not like I exactly have alot of experience talking people through problems. What was it that Alice told me when that one single did really badly...?'_

"My manager always told me that it's better to look forward rather than to fixate on my mistakes. You haven't had any attacks since what happened, right?" Saki fumbled for the correct thing to say. "It's been, how many days now since...? More than a week?"

"Eight days."

"Eight days then. Maybe it's stopped for good this time?"

"I don't know..." Haruto seemed to think it over. "It's just so RANDOM. Sometimes I get a few weeks with no attacks, and other times I'll have a bunch in a day. There's no real pattern to it, and that what makes it so scary. I don't know if at any moment I'll just go crazy like an animal."

"But you've never had an attack where you... you know. Before. It was just biting people up until that point, right? So maybe the attacks were building up to that, and now that it's happened, the attacks will go away?" Even as the words left Saki's mouth she could hear how inane they sounded. As if they'd be lucky enough for that kind of best-case scenario.

_'But I have to say SOMETHING to try and make Haruto feel better, right?'_

"Or it could mean all of the attacks from now on will be..." Haruto visibly pulled himself back together. "Ugh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have started on about all that crap. We were supposed to be talking about what's going on with you."

Saki blew out a breath. Haruto was closing back up, when he'd opened up to her for just a moment. Had she botched it? Said the wrong thing? How did they even get onto that side of the topic to begin with?

_'Oh, right. Blame.'_

"I don't know how much there is to say about me. I just... Look, I DON'T hold you responsible. Even if you don't accept it, that's just how I feel, Haruto. I don't care if you were just looking to avenge Shoko when you accepted that contract; you saved us all from the Dorssians, and that's all that matters to me!" She said fiercely.

Haruto looked like he was about to argue the point, but instead he just nodded. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I really am."

_'Ah. He just apologized to me.'_

She'd been trying to avoid that for so long, thinking that it wouldn't be right for Haruto to apologize for something that wasn't his fault. But now that it came to it, if Haruto could accept that she didn't blame him for what happened, then maybe she could accept his apology? Maybe it would take a load off his shoulders.

"I accept your apology. And... I don't know what else to say." Saki let out a short, frustrated bark of laughter. "I'm trying to deal, I guess. I don't really understand it myself. I'm used to violence, so I think if I had enough time, I could deal with this. Would help if Inuzuka-senpai wasn't so grabby. Or I wasn't so grabby while in his body. Didn't realize my body would still react like that."

"I've heard you say that thing about violence before..." Haruto said slowly. "Has something like this happened to you before?"

"I had a bad relationship with my parents, but that's not the issue." Saki deflected the question. She really, really didn't want to talk about THAT. "I just have to not freak out like that, right? Even if I get all panicky, I can get by if it doesn't show. I think I just need a little more time, that's all, and I'll have this thing beat."

"But you're just hiding it that way." Haruto pointed out. "Do you, uhm, do you want to see a therapist about it? We definitely have the money to go see a doctor, with all our donations."

_'Yeah, let's go see the shrink. Why don't we dig out allll the idol's skeletons from her closet? I can tell them all about my troubled past. Maybe I can get a sweet book deal too! I could even play myself in the movie adaptation!'_

Rather than voice her bitter thoughts, Saki said instead, "I'm not so hot on therapists. Also, wouldn't it be kinda hard to tell them what happened without letting the whole Kamitsuki thing out?"

"Right. Sorry, I didn't think it through again." Haruto's head sagged.

"You were just trying to help," Saki said awkwardly. She hated seeing him looking so defeated like this. "I think I can handle this on my own though. Don't need a therapist."

"Thanks..." Haruto looked so concerned, his big blue eyes gazing at her. Saki noticed that sitting down like this, they were pretty much the same height. "I want to help, Saki. Is there anything I can do at all?"

"It's okay, Haruto..." Saki hesitated. Should she tell him about the weird sense of connection that she'd felt after the event? "It's kinda messed up, but... what happened, it's almost like, a link between us, something we have that no one else can share? And in that sense, it's... well, it might be... not entirely a bad thing?" She winced. That hadn't come out right.

"I don't know how you can say that." Haruto edged away from her a little. "Considering what I did, it's a wonder you can stand to be around me..."

"No, Haruto!" Saki reached out and took Haruto's hand, bringing it up to her face and laying it on her cheek, her fingers sliding between his. "It's weird, but I don't mind having you touch me at all. See?"

Haruto swallowed visibly, his adam's apple bobbing. His shoulders were stiff with tension, but his fingers cradled her face gently, his soft skin warm against hers. His eyes were full of concern as they stared into hers, so big and blue she could almost fall into them.

Saki found herself leaning in closer and closer towards Haruto, drawn in by those amazing blue eyes. His face softened as she drew nearer, and she found herself kissing him for the second time, her lips closing over his. For a moment, his mouth was slack in surprise, much the same as the first time, but then she felt his body shift, his other hand coming up to grasp her shoulder. For a moment she was afraid he was going to push her away...

But Haruto didn't do that. Instead, his hand slid across her back and he pulled her closer towards her. To her amazement, he began to kiss her back, tentatively at first, then harder, his lips pressing hungrily against hers.

The circumstances leading up to the kiss may have been less than stellar, but in that moment, Saki was so happy she could cry.

* * *

Haruto gulped. Saki's cheek was so soft under his fingertips, and ever so slightly fuzzy with downy hairs he could just barely feel. Her slender fingers over his were warm and smooth. Her purple eyes were gazing into his, and they shone with the same heartrending loneliness he'd last seen in the theater.

_'A link between us? Something that only we can share? Is she so lonely that even something like what happened can be... comforting to her?'_

It was something he could scarcely imagine. Growing up, he'd always thought he was lonelier than most other kids who had both their parents, or even just one parent that wasn't as busy with work. But then, he'd always had Shoko, and other friends. Saki, it seemed, hadn't had ANYONE. Now, looking at it, he hadn't been lonely at all.

_'Is that why she doesn't revile me for what I did?'_

Saki was edging closer to him, her pale pink lips opening slightly as her head tilted fractionally to one side. Just as before, in the Valvrave, the fleeting thought ran through his mind-

_'She's going to kiss me.'_

-Just as Saki's lips closed over his own. For a moment, he didn't move, unsure of what he should do. And then he found himself returning the kiss, pulling Saki towards himself, before his thoughts had quite caught up.

_'We're engaged now... so it's okay, right?'_

And... truth be told, kissing Saki felt GREAT.

Her mouth tasted a little of the tea she'd been drinking a moment ago, and her lips were so soft and warm. Haruto suddenly couldn't get enough of kissing her, and he was dimly aware that he was now pushing her back, down onto the bed. He was briefly startled when her tongue flicked against his mouth playfully, but then his lips were opening and her tongue was sliding between them. She probed deeply, hungrily, and he responded, his tongue pressing back against hers, following it into her mouth as her tongue retreated.

He wasn't quite sure how long they kissed, but by the time he pulled away, they were both lying down on his bed. Saki gazed up at him, breathing deeply, her eyes dazed and half-lidded, cheeks and the bridge of her nose faintly flushed. Haruto was breathing just as hard, and he suddenly realized that his hand had slipped down from Saki's cheek to rest on her breast at some point while they were making out.

_'It's so squishy... and big...'_

"Ah, s-sorry..." Haruto pulled his hand away quickly, fearful that Saki might be offended. But no, instead she broke into a light giggle, reaching up to tap his nose.

"Nothing to apologize for, Haruto~" She stretched the last syllable of his name out playfully. "I don't mind a little squeezing as long as it's not too ti~ght!"

Haruto gulped. The soft fullness of Saki's breast seemed to have burnt itself into his palm, and the teasing tone she'd used had tickled him in more ways than one. He became aware of a particular tightness in his pants... where his crotch happened to be pressing against Saki's hip.

He sat up abruptly, turning to the side and angling his legs to try and hide his erection. Had she noticed it pressing up against her? Given what had happened between them, he wouldn't think she'd be all that fond of that particular bit of his anatomy...

Saki, however, either hadn't noticed, or noticed and didn't mind. She was sitting up on the bed now, running her fingers through her disheveled hair. A quick lift and a shake, and her dark tresses were falling back down into their customary perfect arrangement. That done, she looked at him and smiled.

* * *

 _'He kissed me back! He did! And he was touching my...'_ Her breast was still warm with the memory of the gentle pressure of Haruto's hand.

The embarrassed look on his face when Haruto pulled his hand away was just too cute. Saki couldn't resist teasing him just a little. And now he was sitting sideways on the bed, one leg awkwardly shifted a few inches above the other. What was with that pose? Was he trying to hide what was going on in his pants? As if she hadn't felt that pressing against her just a few moments ago?

To be sure, being pushed down onto the bed by Haruto had reminded her chillingly for a moment of what had happened in the shrine. But she'd told herself that it was Haruto, NOT the thing which had taken possession of his body, and the moment had passed.

In the end it just came down to it: she felt safe with Haruto. No matter the circumstances.

"Sorry, Saki!" Haruto said again. "I didn't mean to push you down like that... Sorry for going too fast, I, uhm. Ah?"

His words were cut off again as Saki scootched up to him and pressed a finger to his lips. Those luscious lips she'd just been kissing a moment ago. She smiled broadly, pleased that the finger trick was working once again. "I don't mind, Haruto. Actually, I should thank you. That was my first... well, first REAL kiss, anyway."

"Huh?" Haruto looked at her in puzzlement. "But you kissed me before! And, also, in that movie we watched, you were kissing that Tanihama guy! Or... the actor, whatever!"

"On-screen kisses don't count!" Saki objected. "They're really weird anyway! There's cameras everywhere and there's some director telling you how to kiss and you have to do a bunch of different takes! That's totally not the right atmosphere for a real kiss at all!"

"What about that kiss in the Valvrave?"

"That was..." Saki hesitated. Should she come clean with Haruto about that? In retrospect it hadn't been one of her finer moments. "That one was... well, when I saw all those Valvraves I just knew I HAD to have one. And it seemed like you were going to make a fuss about it, so I figured I'd put you off balance and go for the goal while you were distracted. So... uhm... sorry for stealing your first kiss like that."

"Oh." Haruto thought it over. "I guess that's okay, because it wasn't my first real kiss either then!"

Saki felt warmth swell up from her chest, enveloping her and seeming to concentrate in her face. She was so relieved that Haruto hadn't minded her stealing his first kiss for such a selfish reason...

"I don't think I've ever seen you blush like that before..." Haruto remarked, peering closely at her face.

 _'Eh? I'm blushing?'_ Saki felt her own cheeks. They seemed to be hotter than usual. Yup. Probably blushing. That wasn't something she did very often.

"It's because you're such a good kisser, Haruto," She said lightly, and was rewarded by the sight of Haruto blushing in turn. "Actually... would you like to go for, uhm, a second real kiss? For both of us?"

Haruto hesitated, then smiled, leaning in towards her. "Sure. Let's go for it."

Their lips met, pressed against one another, separated. "And maybe..." Saki breathed as she looked into Haruto's oh-so-blue eyes that were just inches from here own, "A third? And then a fourth?"

"Let's go for those too..." Haruto leaned in again.

* * *

"Swipe your card, please," Lance Corporal Mike Zarroli said in a bored tone, just wanting his shift to be over. 23 years in the ARUS military, and where did he end up? In some dead-end posting on a military supply depot on a half-built sphere, approving material transfers. What a life.

"Sure thing," The kid on the other side of the booth window smiled charmingly, reaching into his pocket for the datacard. Behind him, in the cavernous hollow of the docking bay, the magnetic arms of the automated cargo loader were moving huge shipping containers into the transport.

Mike took another look at the cargo manifest. 38 Z-type Splicers, miscellanous parts, repair supplies, and a crate of flight uniforms. Simple enough, if not exactly routine. Normally Splicers would be moved onboard capital ships, not the standard box-like military transports.

_'Well, all the paperwork's in order.'_

The kid swiped his card through the reader on his side of the window. It beeped, and Mike's console also beeped as it displayed the information. Private Albert Allen, was it? The kid's picture on the screen was wearing a faint smile that got on Mike's nerves somehow. He scowled and took a closer look at the face beyond the window.

The kid's ears sported several multicolored earrings, and combined with his unruly shock of bright orange hair it had the effect of making him look like some punk instead of a proper soldier, despite his neatly pressed uniform. His pale green eyes twinkled cheerfully and his mouth was still curved in that charming smile, as if he was having the time of his life, instead of being stuck on some resupply detail moving ships around.

Yup, he definitely didn't like the kid. Mike knew the type. Enlisted after seeing a recruitment video that made the military out to be a lark, no doubt, and still fresh enough in the service for everything to seem like an adventure. Plenty of time for the years to take that attitude out of the kid, but for now, the kid's youth and freshness just galled him to no end.

_'You sure it's not that he just reminds you of yourself?'_

Mike grimaced. 23 years in the damn service, and that yappy little voice in the back of his head still wouldn't shut up! Alright, maybe it was true, maybe he hadn't enlisted for the right reasons back in the day, but dammit it wasn't his fault! It was that one Sergeant, that Conroy, that busted his balls and ruined his career!

"Is something the matter, sir?" The kid asked politely.

"It ain't none of yer business," Mike said. "And what the hell are you so happy about?"

"Why shouldn't I be happy, sir?" The kid shrugged. "I'm in the greatest military in the world, serving the country I love. I've got a respectable commanding officer, and I'm out here in space. Not to mention chicks dig the uniform. What's not to love?"

Mike considered answering back, but found that he couldn't bring himself to say anything to the kid's brash idealism. Sure, it was annoying, but why hurry to ruin the kid's dreams? He'd find out soon enough that the service was just like any other job. "Just put yer thumb on the pad," he growled instead.

At this point, the thumbprint verification was mostly a formality. All it did was prove that the holder of the ID card was who they said they were. But the kid already looked 100% like the picture on the screen, down to the earrings. Why the system even needed an ID card, though, was something Mike had wondered about for years. You'd think that all they'd need would be the thumbprint, right?

The kid pressed his thumb to the reader, and Mike looked at his screen expectantly, waiting for the confirmation to pop up. Instead, he got something very different.

The screen flashed with an error message: **USER NOT IN DATABASE**

Mike blinked. Protocol was that he was supposed to trigger the alarm in situations like this, but the kid looked exactly like the picture on file his card brought up...

"Is there a problem, sir?" The kid's pleasant demeanor didn't change.

"Hmm..." Mike looked at the screen. Maybe the kid didn't put his thumb on the pad right. He didn't want to bring security running just for a screw-up like that. "Hit the pad again."

"Alright," The kid thumbed the reader again. Mike stared hard at the screen. Just in case it came up with an error again, he'd call security.

The screen flashed: **Private Allen, Albert. Identity Confirmed.**

"There ya go. Make sure to press your thumb nice and firm in the future, Kid." Mike said. He tapped the button to confirm the transfer on the screen.

"It's done then? I'm ready to go?" The kid tucked his datacard back into his pocket, his hand fumbling around somewhere below the edge of the window. Behind him, the automated loader finished its job and shut down. The transport's bay closed with its cargo inside.

"You're ready. Hey, Kid?" Mike decided this Allen kid wasn't so bad, after all. Better a twinkle in his eye than apathy, right? "You got a bright future ahead of ya. Keep up the good work, ya hear?"

"Thanks, sir." The kid brought up his hand, holding something. "No hard feelings, but you've seen my face. So..."

Mike found himself staring down the dark bore of a pistol suppressor. Behind the gun, the kid's eyes were no longer twinkling; now they held a decidedly nasty glint.

"Sorry."

* * *

Adrian flopped into the co-pilot's seat and waved a hand at the dark-haired youth in the pilot's seat. "You sure cut it close there with the biometrics, X. The guy was almost onto me!"

"I was busy hacking the camera feeds and looping footage to remove you," X-Eins said. "Would have had more time if you didn't walk by every camera in the Module on your way down."

"Baah, excuses, excuses."

The cockpit of the transport vibrated around around them as the engines thrummed to life. X-Eins lifted them off the deck and out of the hanger bay. He flipped a switch on his control board. "Control, this is transport 34-0553C, request permission to leave Sphere 34 Module 5."

"This is Control, Transport 34-0553C, you are cleared for departure."

"Thank you, Control. Signing out."

The blue and green half-globe of ARUS Sphere 34 shrank behind them as their transport headed out into space. Adrian relaxed into his chair, glad that the mission was so successful. Stealing Splicers though... he wasn't quite sure Colonel Cain had sent them out on such a job. Why did the Colonel want those Splicers? An infiltration mission, perhaps? Or a false flag attack?

The door behind them hissed open, and Q-Vier came into the cockpit, stretching and yawning noisily. He flopped his arms over the back of Adrian's chair and addressed him in a tone somewhere between whining and congratulatory. "Awww, it went off without a hitch! I was hoping I'd get to kill something!"

"I got to kill someone," Adrian remarked.

"Lucky you... having all the fun." Q-Vier grouched. His voice dipped in volume, the way it did when he was considering something dangerous. "Hey, H, why are we even on this mission stealing crummy ARUS fighters anyway? Why aren't we going to that Module and breaking A-Drei out? I mean, who knows what that traitor L-Elf is doing to him?"

Q-Vier hadn't been doing well since they'd lost A-Drei, Adrian reflected. Although he didn't much show it, the loss of L-Elf had hit the boy soldier hard, and now that A-Drei was gone as well... "I'm sure Colonel Cain has a plan for that," he said. "Who knows, maybe these Splicers are part of it!"

"Mmmph. If you say so..." Q-Vier frowned. "He should just let us go! We already got that one Valvrave, right? So why can't we just destroy the Module now?"

"Trust in the Colonel, Q-Vier." X-Eins looked over. "Has he ever led us astray before?"

"You two are no fun..." Q-Vier grumbled.

"We're coming up on the drop coordinates now." X-Eins reported.

"Eh?" Q-Vier looked over at X-Eins' console. "This close to ARUS space? Aren't we still in their sensor range?"

Adrian frowned. Q-Vier hadn't been paying attention during briefings lately. As hard to control as he'd always been, he at least used to pay token attention to mission parameters. Yet another way the breakup of their little unit had affected him. "This is where we're supposed to drop the cargo," he pointed out. "As specified by Colonel Cain himself."

"Suits me just fine if ARUS finds us." Q-Vier's mouth split into a wide grin. "If they do, I'll finally get to see some action!"

"Here we go." X-Eins tapped in some commands into his console.

The transport's hanger doors opened, and the crates containing their stolen cargo tumbled into space. X-Eins waited a moment for all the crates to float clear, and then activated the drives again, steering the transport away from the drop. Q-Vier clung to the back of Adrian's chair, staring greedily at the display for some sign of ARUS opposition, but as the minutes ticked by and no such opposition was forthcoming, he sighed in annoyance.

"Figures. No fun at all." Q-Vier slid off the back of the chair. "Might as well go play Monster Hunter 53..."

Adrian took a final glance at the display as the transport flew farther away from the drop point. He froze suddenly in confusion. Had they gotten farther away than he'd thought? Or was he looking at the wrong part of space?

Behind them, the slowly tumbling cargo crates had vanished.

Chapter 6 End

* * *

**A/N: Thanks again to xchrispx and Christemo for beta reading.**

**I have to apologize to the A-Drei fans out there, since he wasn't around this chapter, but he'll feature prominently in the next chapter!**

**I'd like to talk about characterization a little bit, since we have the character development ball properly rolling. First off, Haruto. I felt that his major fault in the series was that he didn't think anything through and would rush off into things, not with the goal of improving the situation, but with the goal of making himself feel better. Case in point, him telling Shoko that he'd save Papa Sashinami. We all know how that turned out. And Haruto never really developed past this character flaw, and indeed it ended up killing him in the end. He's actually quite selfish in alot of ways, if you really think about it.**

**I want to take him past this state of mind, to where he actually steps up and does things, not for the sake of soothing his conscience, but in order to actually accomplish something. And his relationship with Saki will be the means to have him reach that point.**

**And speaking of Saki, while there was definitely a character arc for her in the show, going from a vainglorious bitch at the beginning of the show, to having what an anon on /a/ called a heart made of 100% steel and loyalty, she wasn't really shown to develop. Late Season 2 Saki was a completely different character from Season 1 Saki, and while it was pretty nice to see, it also was more of Character Change rather than Character Development.**

**That's another thing I mean to rectify in my fic. Just because a person wants to change doesn't mean they'll immediately do so, or be completely effectively at it, so while Saki in my fic has decided to try to be a kinder person, it'll be a slow process for her because she's not had any real practice at being nicer before.**

**I admit Cain might have been a little OOC in this chapter, but the way I see it, in the series we always see him talking about friendship this and friendship that, but he's never actually friendly with anyone. Even his interactions with Mirko were pretty distanced. So his scene with Liselotte is a side of him I hoped to bring out a bit more.**

**Thanks to everyone for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Here's to seeing you in the next one!**


	7. Chapter 7 - Blackout Part 1

**AN:** **Figure I should also probably start doing this disclaimer thing. Don't own Valvrave or any of the characters, yadda yadda yadda.**

* * *

Kyuma stood on the pier, watching the ships come in.

It was early morning, and all around him the pier buzzed with activity. On one side of the concrete waterfront, heavy machinery was noisily feed scrap and debris into the maw of a cargo ship. On the other side, closer to him, a recently-arrived transport was disgorging a group of ARUS workers, dressed in overalls and chatting in English as they pushed hovercrates full of equipment.

Kyuma eyed the registry number on the side of the transport. _'Nope, not that one. Is it late?'_

He checked his phone again to make sure. Yup. The ship he was looking for was supposed to have put in ten minutes ago. He let out a little sigh. Oh well, it couldn't be helped. Being dockside to welcome the representative from Miller Foods would make a good impression, and if he got that advertisement deal, what was a few extra minutes?

"Excuse me! Uh... You... you are?"

Kyuma's attention was drawn to a familiar voice, speaking in halting English. He looked over to see Midori-chan from the student council addressing one of the ARUS workers, a tall, well-built fellow with dark blond hair and tanned skin. Maybe in his late twenties or early thirties.

"Yes? Can I help you, Miss?" The worker asked in the same language.

"Uhm, you are... you are... ah...?" Midori-chan couldn't seem to find the right English words. She looked around for help, her gaze locking onto Kyuma. "Inuzuka-senpai, help!"

Kyuma glanced at the blue waters of the harbor quickly. Nope, no sign of any incoming transport. He headed over to Midori-chan and the ARUS worker, the latter looking back and forth between them with a puzzled but pleasant half-smile. "What do you want to say, Midori-chan?"

"Could you ask him if he's Pete Robinson, please?" Midori-chan asked Kyuma in Japanese.

"Sure." Bemused, Kyuma relayed the question to the ARUS worker in English. The man shook his head slowly in puzzlement, apparently as confused as Kyuma was.

"No, sorry, I don't know who that is... I'm just an electrician, as you can see." The worker replied in English as he gestured to his equipment.

Kyuma turned to tell the answer to Midori-chan, but she had apparently understood enough of the response, and was apologizing in her stilted English. "Sorry! You look... uh... very like Pete Robinson. I thought... uhm, sorry!"

"No worries, haha... I guess it happens? Anyways, uh, saiyo-narah?" The man smiled sheepishly and waved back as he started after the other workers, who had gone on ahead without him.

Kyuma and Midori-chan watched him catch up with his fellows in a few long-legged strides, and the entire crew continued toward the school.

"Phew!" Midori-chan blew out a relieved breath. "First time talking to a gaijin! They're so intimidating! So tall..." She glanced up at Kyuma. "Uhm, that's not to say tall people are intimidating or anything. Uhm... thank you for your help, Senpai!"

"No problem!" Kyuma grinned. "So, who was that guy supposed to be?"

"Oh, Pete Robinson? He's an Olympic triathlete. That guy totally looked just like him! Even though, well, I guess I knew it couldn't possibly be him. But I couldn't help it. When something like that happens you just have to ask, right?"

"I guess so," Kyuma allowed. There weren't any celebrities, sports or otherwise, that he was really interested in (other than being impressed by how much money they made), so it was a little baffling to him. "At least now you know."

"Right!" Midori-chan looked down. "Thanks again, Senpai. I uh, I should get back to work. Anyways. See ya!"

Kyuma watched Midori-chan run off, her white hair accessory gently bobbing atop her green hair. He looked back over at the dock. Still no transport.

_'That was a little strange, but it beats just standing here and waiting. Although there's gotta be something constructive I could do...'_

Why yes, there was. He closed down the day planner on his phone and tapped in Haruto's number. If the meeting went successfully, maybe he could get Haruto in on the ad deal. After all, the Valvrave of the Boy Who Fought The World should be worth more than his own VVV V, right?

_'As long as I'm at it, I can talk with Rukino-san too about possible record deals...'_

Kyuma smiled as he typed a text message into his phone. Ah... the delicious prospect of making money...

* * *

"Good morning, everyone!" Shoko's cheery voice sounded over the Module-wide announcement system. "This is just a reminder that the Module will be switching over to ARUS' power grid at 12:30 today! There'll be a brief outage, but it shouldn't last longer than 5, maybe 10 minutes, so make sure to have your flashlight apps ready!"

Saki took a break from tugging on her gym shorts to glance up at the corners of the ceiling, trying to figure out where the hidden speaker in their room was. "What, again? That's gotta be the tenth reminder in the last 2 days? I THINK everyone's got the message by now..."

Haruto spoke from the other side of the room, his voice accompanied by the sound of rustling fabric. "Shoko probably doesn't want anyone to have a hard time like the last power outage. This way everyone will be ready!"

"Mmm-hmm." Saki offered non-commitally, sneaking a glance at Haruto's shirtless back. Over the past few days he'd gotten comfortable enough to not only stay in the room while she got dressed, but to dress at the same time as well, instead of sitting around with his eyes squeezed shut.

_'Maybe today he'll even sneak a peek?'_

It was a weird thought to contemplate for her. During her time as an idol, she'd developed a certain callousness about putting bits of herself on display, but she had never considered herself an exhibitionist. Getting into a swimsuit for a shoot was just business. And yet the thought of Haruto glancing over to see her while she was dressing sent tingles down her spine-and not the skeeved out kind of tingles, either. The good kind. Like the ones she got from kissing Haruto.

Kissing Haruto. Just thinking about it made Saki feel all warm inside. Ever since their first kissing session, they'd been making out, snogging regularly in the privacy of their room. With her clinical past experiences with kissing, she hadn't really understood just how fun it could be, or how many different kinds of kisses there were. From tickly, feathery teasing nibbles to deep passionate exchanges that left them both gasping for air while their hands wandered over each others' bodies. It was just so delicious! And there was nothing quite like a good morning kiss to start the day (even if Haruto's breath was a little icky first thing in the morning).

As nice as the kissing was, it was just one part of her new cohabiting life that Saki found herself really enjoying. She'd always considered herself a loner, so it was another surprise just how much she enjoyed Haruto's company, just for its own sake. Even something as simple as listening to his breathing from the bed beside her at night made her feel strangely content.

"All done!" Haruto announced. "How about you?"

"How about you take a peek and find out?" Saki teased.

"Ahh... uh..." Haruto hemmed and hawwed, sounding like an old man. Saki couldn't help but giggle a little.

"Just teasing~ I'll let you know when I'm done~"

_'Ah, one of these days...'_

Saki quickly finished putting on her gym clothes. Their days in boot camp now consisted of training in the mornings until noon, lunch, and then more training until the early afternoon. Somewhat shorter than a school day, but as it turned out, much more fun and interesting. At least, some parts of it. Saki still much preferred the physical aspects of training over the firearms. Tinkering around with the guns still confused her, and somewhat to her annoyance, her accuracy at controlling Carmilla's Spindle Knuckles didn't translate into accuracy with a gun. Still, she was improving, albeit slowly.

"Okay, you can turn around now, Haruto! I'm _decent_!"

"Sorry." Haruto turned and made his way across the room. "Dunno why it bothers me so much..."

"Yeah, it _is_ kinda weird, isn't it?" Saki deliberately tugged at the collar of her shirt, tilting her head to the side. "I mean, you've already touched all those parts of me... and yet you're so hesitant about having a look."

A few days ago the display would probably have sent Haruto into an apologizing fit, but to his credit, now he only blushed and shrugged. "I'm not sure, really. Maybe it has to do with my upbringing?"

"Bah! That blasted puritanical upbringing of yours again! I guess I'll have to work around that..." Saki looked up into Haruto's gorgeous eyes as he stepped up next to her, her breath catching a little in her throat. His gaze was just so... blue! "Does your upbringing mean you can't give a girl a kiss to start the day?"

"Now that I can do..."

"Mmmm..."

Their lips met in a long, lingering kiss that went on and on. Saki had only intended it to be a short one, but she couldn't quite bring herself to pull away. Haruto seemed to have the same idea, as he managed to murmur that they should probably get going before they were late, but he didn't seem to have the willpower to break the kiss either.

"Mmmmm..."

"Mmmmm..."

**"Boku ja nai, boku ja nai, boku ja naaaiii!"**

"Wha?" Saki broke off the kiss in surprise.

"Sorry, phone!" Haruto dug around in his pants and pulled out his cellphone.

 **"Itsuka ayamachi wooo-" BLEEP!** The song cut off as Haruto pressed the answer button. "Hello? Hey, Senpai!"

Saki smoothed down the back of her rumpled shorts where Haruto's hands had been wandering. Was that HER song Haruto had as his ringtone now? When did that happen?

Haruto finished his call and put his phone away. "That was Inuzuka-senpai. He was wondering if we could go meet him in his office after lunch today, before afternoon classes. He says it's business-related. Business business. Not Valvrave business."

Saki was intrigued. "Business business, huh? Sure, I'm up for it. Let's see what schemes he's got cooked up."

* * *

Training went about as well as it always did.

That is to say, not very well. Haruto had never been all that interested in stuff like running or swimming in gym class; his tastes ran more to team sports like baseball or soccer. He enjoyed the sense of working together toward a common goal.

In comparision, the physical training they were doing nowadays struck him as pretty dull.

And his physical performance hadn't been improving at all.

Saki had said it was too soon to see any real improvements; they'd only been training for three days. According to her, he should wait a week at least. But it was still frustrating. He had to get stronger. Had to stop being a dead weight outside of his Valvrave. There was no telling when he'd be thrown into a situation like what happened during the last attack again.

Haruto waited outside the girls' locker room, leaning against the wall. Every now and then a girl (or a group of girls) would pause on their way out and glance at him, and he'd do his best to look casual, although he was getting pretty embarrassed. He'd never been in this position before; he and Saki would usually meet up in the cafeteria, but today they were supposed to head to Inuzuka-senpai's office instead.

Another girl coming through the door caught his attention, but no, it wasn't Saki. As he looked toward her, he caught a glimpse of the locker room interior through the open door. Although he didn't happen to see any undressed girls, he couldn't help a thought from flitting through his mind.

_'In there, Saki is...'_

Haruto felt the beginnings of the guilt roiling in his belly, and tried desperately to back away from the thought. Even imagining Saki in the nude was enough to set him off, it seemed. It was odd, because he'd had ample time during the past few days to get closer to her. He'd touched her body and her lips enough times. But he still couldn't shake the mental image of her naked skin under the moonlight, or the guilt that always accompanied it.

What was it he'd said that morning when Saki teased him about peeking at her? His 'upbringing?' Could he have thought up a lamer line?

_'Yeah, my totally chaste upbringing where I was raised in a secluded Zen monastery... where did that come from? I spent tons of time with Shoko as a kid, and there was that time where I accidentally walked in on her in the bathroom! I even used to look at porn every now and then!'_

Thankfully, Saki hadn't seemed to notice how bad that line was. And Haruto didn't want to tell her about how he felt. It just made him feel even more guilty. She was the victim, not him. And he had no right to mouth off to her when she'd been so badly affected by the attack.

The guilt was something he deserved. If anything, he should be feeling _more_ guilty. His engaged life was, well...

It was alot of fun. Haruto legitimately enjoyed living together with Saki. They'd developed a solid camaraderie and Haruto found himself appreciating her wry sense of humor. Even her incessant teasing was growing on him. And the physical aspects... Haruto couldn't get enough of kissing her. It was... almost magical.

And that was the problem. When he'd come up with the idea of marrying Saki to atone, he'd wanted to devote his life to her, to make up for what he'd done. But he wasn't supposed to be _enjoying_ himself. That defeated the whole purpose of atonement, didn't it? If he didn't-

"Module 77 to Haru~to~! Moshi moshi!"

"Ah! Saki!" Haruto jumped. Saki was standing very close to him, peering up into his face, a faint smile on her lips. "When did you-?"

"Just now." Saki laced her fingers behind her back and leaned in even closer. "Sorry, shower went a little long. Did I keep you waiting?"

"Not that long." Haruto gulped. Her lips were so close to his... if he inched forward a little... "Sorry, I was thinking..."

"Deep thoughts, huh?" Saki pulled away with a wink, leaving Haruto with a mix of relief and disappointment. "You gotta stow those away for a while. Inuzuka-senpai awaits!"

"Right." Haruto stepped away from the wall and offered Saki his arm. She took it instantly, beaming up at him. The dark thoughts plaguing him blew away like dust at the feel of her slender fingers intertwining with his. "Let's go!"

"Hmmm... so this is pretty much a lunch meeting, right? What do you think the chances are the ol' skinflint'll spring for lunch for us?"

"Saki! Senpai's not like that! He just loves making money, he doesn't hoard it!"

"Yeah, you say that... but I still bet he won't volunteer to buy us lunch!"

"Hmph! You're on!"

* * *

"Hey there, Haruto! Rukino-san!"

"Yo, Senpai!"

"Hello."

Haruto looked around Inuzuka-senpai's office. He'd never been in this particular room before, and wasn't sure what the room was used for originally. One of the career counciler offices, maybe?

Inuzuka-senpai was seated behind a rather cheap-looking desk, its fake wood finishing unable to completely conceal the fact that it was made from composite materials. The room had been stripped of previous decorations and its walls were mostlybare, although bits of tape still clung here and there. The only remaining wall fixture was a battered corkboard hanging near the door.

Between the door and the desk were a pair of chairs and student desks. And on the desks were...

"Are those for us?" Haruto asked, indicating the pair of food trays atop the desks.

"Yup. This is your lunch period, right? I went down to the cafeteria and picked up some stuff for you. So you don't have to skip lunch on account of me." Inuzuka-senpai explained.

_'I was right!'_

Remembering the bet they'd made, Haruto shot Sakia triumphant glance-only to be confused when he saw that Saki was shooting a triumphant glance right back. What was going on here?

"Uhm, sorry..." Inuzuka-senpai said hesitantly, apparently misunderstanding the glance between Haruto and Saki for something else. "Did you guys have your own lunch plans? You don't have to eat here if-"

"Oh, no, no!" Saki interrupted him. "We're really grateful for your largesse! Thank you for the meal!" She shot Haruto another look, her purple eyes sparkling with victory. "Isn't that right, Haru~to~?"

"Right!" Haruto said. "That's really generous of you, Senpai!" He gave Saki another triumphant look, even threw in a little bit of a smirk. He'd won their bet, right? So why was she gloating?

"Man, you two are getting really creepy..." Inuzuka-senpai muttered, glancing back and forth between them.

"Sorry... private joke," Haruto said.

Inuzuka-senpai shrugged. "Well, have a seat!"

Haruto and Saki sat down and tucked in. Between bites, Haruto addressed Inuzuka-senpai.

"What was it you wanted to see us about, Senpai?"

"New JIOR's financial future!"

"Uhhhh..." Haruto grimaced. He hadn't actually taken any business classes during his time in school. Just hadn't been that interested in the field. "I don't know much about finances..."

"No worries," Inuzuka-senpai said. "It's pretty basic stuff, really. Lessee... well, you know how we've got a few billion yen right now from donations in supplies and liquid assets, right?"

"Uhm, sure."

"Donations are fine, but it's not gonna last." Inuzuka-senpai explained. "The world's attention span for refugees is pretty limited. Remember that earthquake in South America a few years ago? Everyone was talking about it on the news and online, but that faded pretty fast. We're the hot topic in ARUS right now, but pretty soon we'll be replaced by the latest diet fad, or the latest sports victory, or whatever. So we need to make the most out of what we have right now."

"Right." Haruto agreed, but only half-heartedly. This kind of mercantile talk just wasn't his forte. He was much more interested in how to keep everyone safe, and once that was accomplished, figuring out some way to eventually liberate all of JIOR from Dorssia. Money and supplies were important, sure, but they weren't the focus.

Beside him, Saki was nodding at Inuzuka-senpai enthusiastically. "Yeah! Strike while the iron's hot! So what do you have planned, Minister of Finance?"

"Well, I was thinking," Inuzuka-senpai went on, a big grin plastered over his face. Clearly, he was loving this. "New JIOR doesn't have any industry. We don't produce anything, so we can't export anything. We don't offer any kind of services. So what do we have to trade?"

"...The Valvraves?" Haruto was horrified. "Wait, Senpai, you're not suggesting we _sell_ the Valvraves?"

"In a manner of speaking," Inuzuka-senpai grinned. "Not selling the actual units, but you're right that the Valvraves _are_ a commodity. We can sell merchandise! Plamos! Trading Cards! Bentos! Clothing! Produced by ARUS companies in exchange for a licensing fee and a cut of the sales! And we've also got our popularity! Well, more like you twos' popularity."

Haruto sighed. This was over his head. But as long as it helped everyone out... "What do I need to do?"

"Product endorsements, for one thing. Ads and stuff like that. But I was thinking, other than licenses, we can use the Valvraves to sell advertising space! I've been negotiating with one company, and they've agreed to pay us if we name our Valvraves after their products and put their logos on them!"

 _'That's really clever!'_ Haruto had to admit. He hadn't really given much thought to naming his Valvrave. VVV I would always remain 'The' Valvrave to him, since as far as they knew, it had been the only one when he'd first piloted it. _'But what if I get a name I don't like?'_

"I'm up for doing ads. But about naming Unit One... will I get to pick the product name I want?" He asked.

Inuzuka-senpai nodded. "Yeah, I'll send you a list to look at. You don't need to pick one now or anything. I mean, right now I'm stuck between Beast High, Trapanara, or Eagle of the Sea for Unit Five." He turned to Saki. "Rukino-san, I don't suppose you'd be willing to rename Carmilla...?"

"Not a chance." Saki shook her head.

"Figured," Inuzuka-senpai sighed. "What do you say to restarting your singing career?"

"What do you mean?" Saki asked slowly.

"I mean, signing with an ARUS label. Doing new songs and stuff like that. Performances down the road, maybe."

"New songs? What's wrong with my old ones?"

"Nothing. It's just that we can't really monetize them. I checked them out, and technically they're still owned by your old record company. They're also in a legal gray area now that Dorssia's taken over JIOR. So if we wanna make money, we'll need totally new songs."

"Makes sense." Saki was excited. "Alright, I'll look into that!"

Inuzuka-senpai grinned. "I've put together a portfolio of ARUS record companies for ya. I've even marked down which ones I've approached already on your behalf."

"Oh, _on my behalf_ , is it? That's pretty presumptious of you." Saki scowled.

"Sorry..." Inuzuka-senpai winced. "I just wanted to take the opportunity as soon as I could. 'Strike while the iron's hot,' right?"

Saki sighed. "Just don't get it into your head that you're my manager or anything."

Inuzuka-senpai held up his hands. "Sure thing. By the way, how's your English?"

"My English?" Saki thought for a moment, then switched to the foreign language. "I can speak some. Understand more. Why?"

"The record companies I talked to weren't sure about the ARUS market for songs in Japanese. They think you'd be alot more popular if you did songs for them in English."

"Sure. If they give me the lyrics I can sing em."

"I'm also not sure how much you'd be making. Probably less than with your old record company. How much did you make, anyway?"

"Uhhhhhhh..." Saki looked down. "Not really sure, actually. Uhm, maybe 100 million yen a year? Less?"

"You don't know how much money you made?" Inuzuka-senpai was shocked.

"What?" Saki abruptly turned defensive. "Not everyone's into money like you, okay? My parents negotiated all my contracts, and most of the pay went into their pockets. But it's not like really cared about that. I just wanted to get the hell away from my parents!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Inuzuka-senpai apologized. "I didn't mean anything by that. I was just curious... you were already so successful that young, you know? I wasn't even trading stocks at the age and you were already making millions. Sorry if I offended you."

Saki looked like she was going to continue yelling, but she visibly composed herself, blowing out a long breath. "No, no. It's fine. Sorry for going off like that. I really wasn't interested in the money part of being an idol. I only cared about being famous. I was fine as long as I had a place to live and Ali-"

She was cut off by Shoko's voice sounding over the speakers.

"Hey there, everyone! This is just a reminder that the Module will be switching over to ARUS' power grid in fifteen minutes! There'll be a brief outage, but it shouldn't last longer than 5, maybe 10 minutes, so make sure to have your flashlight apps ready!"

"Ugh! Again!" Saki grumbled.

* * *

"Hey there, everyone! This is just a reminder that the Module will be switching over to ARUS' power grid in fifteen minutes! There'll be a brief outage, but it shouldn't last longer than 5, maybe 10 minutes, so make sure to have your flashlight apps ready!"

_'The frequency of the announcements may be slightly excessive, but they keep the population alert.'_

Just to be safe, Mikhail went over his own preparations again.

Take the prison cell doors off the main grid and wire them to a backup generator. Done. In case of power outage, the Module's computer automatically unlocked all the cell doors so that the inmates could evacuate. Mikhail didn't want his Dorssian prisoners taking advantage of the situation to escape.

Pick up the tablet he'd be issued back at the beginning of the mission with the security cracking software. Done. In case there was another door malfunction, he didn't intend to be locked out of any critical parts of the Module.

Add those JIORan headlamps to his previously distributed equipment caches. Done. While he'd downloaded the flashlight app for his cell phone earlier, the rate at which the app drained the battery was unacceptable. And the headlamp would allow him to keep his hands free.

While Mikhail wasn't expecting any particular trouble during the power outage, it never hurt to be prepared.

"That prime minister of theirs certainly is working hard, isn't she?" A-Drei said idly as he clicked away at his monitor.

"She is," Mikhail noted.

The two of them were far below the surface of Module 77, in the security station Mikhail had made his base of operations before he'd been accepted by the JIORans. At the time he'd found it useful because it housed dozens of monitors that allowed him to access camera feeds from all over the Module, but he'd abandoned it after his pact with Tokishima Haruto. These days the security station was where A-Drei stayed since being released from the prison. Sentiments against Dorssians were inflamed, and it wouldn't do for A-Drei, a participant in the last attack, to mix with the general population. The last thing Mikhail needed was an altercation.

_'I'll need some kind of event to make the JIORans perceive A-Drei as an ally. Perhaps a prison break where he saves some students from the other Dorssian soldiers?'_

"Here we go." A-Drei tapped at the keyboard. "They sent a response. Running the decryption now."

Mikhail allowed himself a moment of satisfaction. Although they'd planned to overthrow the Dorssian government together, A-Drei had been the one with all the Royalist ties. When Mikhail was branded a traitor, he'd lost contact with those ties. While he believed he would have been able to compensate with control over the Valvraves, it was nevertheless useful to regain the Royalists' resources. "What did they say?"

"It's not good." A-Drei sighed as he scanned the decrypted document. "Quite a few Royalists were on the Lunar Fleet when the Valvraves destroyed it. They're saying that Commissar Ledin was killed during the battle."

Mikhail hadn't known Ledin was a Royalist. The Royalists certainly played things close to the vest. "These things happen in war. They should understand."

"Maybe they would, if it weren't for the Chancellor's speech." A-Drei looked annoyed. "My contact says that alot of Royalists are halfway agreeing with him. They want to see New JIOR brought down for using 'weapons of mass destruction' on Dorssians. And most of the other half see New JIOR as an opportunity but not as potential allies."

 _'Nothing brings people together like an outside threat.'_ Mikhail understood the play that Chancellor Amadeus was making. It would be difficult to overcome, but not impossible. "Those objections sound like the opening of a negotiation. But even if the Royalists only view us as an opportunity, it's not one they can afford to pass up. What are their terms?"

A-Drei scrolled down the page. "They want a Valvrave. As a gesture of good faith."

"Figures." Mikhail muttered. "And if circumstances permitted I might give them one... but only the Module's students can use them. They'll have to settle for the next best thing."

"Trading military actions? Like back in Ulan Bator?"

"Precisely."

* * *

Akira checked the files she'd prepared for the umpteenth time. She'd had to suffer through the last two power outages in the dark without any computer access, but not this time! Little Witch would lose access to the Module's internet connection, sure. But at least her console would still be active. And on that console's drive she had uploaded...

_'Two solid hours of kitty videos! There's no way they'll catch me with my pants down again! Nyah-ha-ha-ah!'_

Pants down in a literal sense as well as figuratively. The only place she dropped her pants now was the public bathroom. The latest batch of jars she'd received from Satomi were still sitting around in their cloth, gleaming clean. It had been hard the first few times, after the time she'd run into Rukino-san, but it seemed like the idol pilot's presence at the bathroom had been a fluke; Akira hadn't seen anyone there at all since then. And after a few false starts it had gotten alot easier to get out of Little Witch and go to the bathroom.

_'Like a normal person!'_

Akira smiled to herself. It was such a little thing, really. But the reclaiming of that portion of her life gave her a sense of cautious optimism she hadn't felt in years. Maybe there _was_ a light at the end of the tunnel.

_'And who knows? Maybe next week... A shower?'_

She hadn't had one in so long... A real shower, with hot water sluicing over her skin, soap suds in her hair. She shivered with delight at the prospect.

_'Thank you, Shoko-chan. Thank you, Rukino Saki!'_

* * *

Kichuksana gazed around the bridge of the Phantom, pleased that all seemed to be in readiness. There were more crew in the room than usual-although most of the ship's functions were automated, the special cargo required nearly a dozen more Magius, crammed around a hastily assembled bank of displays and control surfaces. Most of them were less powerful individuals, or those whose original functions didn't translate well to Rune manipulation from within a human host, although those limitations didn't matter for their assignment today. They currently inhabited the bodies of ARUS pilots, snatched from a barracks just for this operation.

On the main screen in the front of the Bridge was Module 77, its faceted dome glowing like an enormous topaz gem against the pale backdrop of the moon's surface. Unlike the other modules dotting the moonscape, the JIORan module was alone, floating just off the surface, connected to a supply pipeline by a series of ducts.

"Kichuksana, transmission from Dosi." His Tactical Officer addressed him from her station off to the side. "All green."

"Good." Kichuksana glanced over at the other side of the bridge, where another series of monitors showed biosigns, and the four medics there. "How are our 'pilots?'"

"They're all sleeping like babies." One of the medics reported. "No problems here."

Kichuksana nodded and activated ship-wide communications from his console. "We're all green. Activate jamming. Battle stations, everyone."

"How are you going to get the New JIORans to agree to this?" A-Drei asked. "If that Yamada guy's anything to go by, they don't care much about Dorssian internal politics."

"Tell them the truth, of course," Mikhail said. "That once the Royalists are in power they can give JIOR its independance back. In the end, Dorssia doesn't need the JIORan homeland. Just the Valv-"

His words were cut off as the lights and the monitors in the security office winked out, plunging them into darkness.

"There it goes." A-Drei remarked dryly. "Hope it doesn't last too long."

Mikhail reached over to his side for his headlamp, but froze as the door to the security office suddenly whooshed open, locking into place with an audible click. That was _not_ how the doors were supposed to behave during a power outage.

_'Something's gone wrong.'_

On the Phantom's viewscreen, Module 77 went dark, the golden glow of its dome dimming into deep blue.

_'Right on time, Dosi.'_

Kichuksana smiled and spoke to the weapons officer in the pit below him. "Sequence one. Fire on my mark."

He took a time to study the Module as it hung below them, mentally going over attack and manuvering vectors one final time.

"Fire."

* * *

On the console, the kitty mommy leapt for the top of the dresser, missed her jump, and fell to the ground. The kittens around her scattered in terror, each making for the nearest hidey-hole. Akira giggled as one kitten's hindquarters wiggled, sticking out from the bottom of the dresser.

_'They're so adorable! Oh, I wish I had-'_

Little Witch's cockpit jumped abruptly, the sudden jolt lifting her out of her chair by a few inches. She let out a shriek, but even as her bottom settled back into the seat, Akira realized what it was. There'd been plenty of shaking like that over the past few months.

_'We're under attack? Now? What happened to the neutral zone?'_

But it was different this time. This time, she wouldn't be huddling helplessly under her blankets, watching the Valvraves fight the Dorssian bullies and waiting for the shaking to stop.

Akira pressed a key on her console, and the still-playing kitty video faded into the Valvrave's raven logo, the cockpit humming to full life around her.

_'This time, it's my turn to fight back!'_

* * *

Saki and Haruto yelped as the office shook. There was a clatter as the half-empty food trays went flying off their desks, followed immediately by a rumble coming from somewhere deep in the Module.

Then there was silence. The room was lit only by the dim glow of their phones on flashlight mode.

"Dorssians? Attacking us here?" Haruto's shocked voice broke the silence. "But the moon... the _treaty_!"

"Adults only play by the rules when it's conveniant for them..." Saki muttered, trying to load as much cynicism into her voice as she could-although she was actually shocked at being attacked. She'd really believed they were safe on the moon. "Come on, we've gotta get to the Valvraves!"

Inuzuka-senpai vaulted over his desk and joined them in the scramble out of the office. "Maybe it's not Dorssia. Maybe it's just an accident of some kind. With the power grid transfer?"

"With how things have been going the past few months, do you really think it's something as harmless as an accident?" Saki pointed out.

"No, I guess we wouldn't be that lucky..." Inuzuka-senpai sighed.

As they continued to run down the corridor, Saki glanced over at Inuzuka-senpai's profile, half hidden in the gloom. Despite his tone, there was a determined look on his face. Good enough. Beside him, Haruto was pressing buttons frantically on his phone.

_'Speaking of lucky, at least all the airlock doors are open! Otherwise it'd take forever to get to the Valvraves...'_

There was something odd going on though. Something almost beyond sense, sliding over her skin, prickling the small hairs at the nape of her neck...

Saki stopped abruptly. It was harder to feel while running, but now that she was motionless, it was definitely there.

_'A breeze...'_

Not the light movement of air near the ventilation ducts, no. This was the real deal. As soft and ephemeral as it was, it was unmistakable: a real, living breeze. It tugged gently at the fluffed ends of her ribbons, setting them to rustling against her hair.

_'For there to be a breeze like this so deep in the Module, away from the blowers in the dome... that must mean...!'_

In front of her, Haruto and Inuzuka-senpai stumbled to a stop, spun around. Haruto spoke, his face lit an eerie blue by his phone. "Saki? What's wrong?"

"Guys. Do you feel that?" She asked, her voice coming out small and tremulous.

Haruto shook his head, but Inuzuka-senpai's mouth dropped open. "Wind?" He gasped. "Oh, no..."

A moment later, Haruto's blue eyes went wide as he too felt the wispy tuggings of the breeze. "That's... not good, right?"

"Mmm-mm." Saki's throat was dry. Too dry for words.

"Go," Inuzuka-senpai breathed.

They went, zooming down the corridors and down flights of stairs as fear lent them wings. Saki cracked her foot against something in the darkness, stumbled, swore, took a few hopping steps, and then resumed running, thankful for her Kamitsuki healing factor as the pain in her toes quickly faded. Haruto looked over at her in concern, but she shook her head at him to show she was okay, and he went back to his phone, only to growl in frustration a moment later.

"Dammit! I can't-" Haruto started, then composed himself. "Saki, can you call L-Elf?"

"Huh?" Saki had been aware that Haruto had been punching harder and harder at the keys of his phone for a while. "What do you mean?"

"My phone's not working! I don't know what's wrong with it!"

"Got it!" Saki hit the speed dial for L-Elf, only to see a flashing message box pop up on her phone's holographic display.

**No Signal**

"The hell?" She tried the speed dial again, only to get the same result. She looked up at Haruto in confusion. "I can't get a signal."

"Lemmie try." Inuzuka-senpai tapped at his phone. "Nope. Something to do with the outage?"

"Maybe." Saki tried to think. She didn't know much about how cell phones worked, but they routed their signal through some kind of broadcasting equipment on the Module, right? So if there was a power outage, it made sense they wouldn't get a signal?

They were at the hanger now. The inner door of the hanger gaped open, but thankfully, the outer space doors were closed. Saki noticed that Otamaya-kun and the rest of the engineers were already there. Yamada was there as well, dressed in his orange flight suit, his helmet cradled under his arm as he turned to face them.

"Man, you guys are _slow_! Get on my level!"

Saki ignored Yamada as she rushed over to the lockers and pulled out her flight suit, too hurried to bother to duck into the changing room. Switching rooms to change would only waste time, and it was dark enough in the unlit hanger to hide her from the gazes of the others, she hoped. Haruto and Inuzuka-senpai were over by the engineers, and she caught snatches of their conversation as she skimmed out of her clothes.

"...no signal..."

"maybe an attack..."

"...if it's the Dorssians..."

"R-R-R-R-R-RUKIIIIII?"

Apparently it wasn't dark enough. Otamaya-kun and the others were gawking at her half-dressed body, while Haruto was looking discreetly at the wall. No time for embarrassment. Besides, she'd done shoots that showed off more skin than what was on display now. She shrugged her arms matter-of-factly into the sleeves of her flightsuit and zipped herself up.

"Buy my shoots, boys. They'll last longer!" Saki yelled at them.

"Ah, s-s-s-s-sorry!" Otamaya-kun struggled to apologize.

"What's your big hurry?" Yamada wanted to know. "Not that I don't appreciate, but they ain't shooting at us anymore, right?"

Saki swept past him on her way to Carmilla. "There's not exactly time for that, with the breach..."

"Breach? What breach?"

Saki goggled at him. How stupid could this guy get? "You feel that? That breeze?"

"Yeah? So?"

"We're in space, dumbass! On a space station? There's no _wind_ here normally! If there's wind now, it means we're venting atmosphere!"

Yamada's forehead was scrunched up in thought. "Wait, that don't make no sense. If there's a breach, shouldn't the airlocks close? So it ain't a problem?"

In reply, Saki waved her hand at the hanger's inner door, which was still gaping open.

"Oh? Ohhhhhhhh..." The color drained from Yamada's face. He hurriedly jammed his helmet over his head and sealed it with the neckpiece of his suit, taking huge breaths as if he was already in danger of sucking down vacuum.

Saki sighed and continued on her way. Behind her, Haruto and Inuzuka-senpai were taking a cue from her and throwing on their flight suits. Carmilla still wasn't fully repaired and she'd be limited to one Spindle Knuckle and only two extra legs on her Multi-Leg Spine, but she'd make do with what she had.

It wasn't until she was already in Carmilla's cockpit, going through her preflight checks, that the full implication of Yamada's words hit her.

_'The idiot's right. The airlock doors are supposed to close in case of a breach. Even if the power goes out, the doors have their own separate power supply.'_

_'...So why aren't the airlocks closing now?'_

"Can anyone hear me?" Haruto's voice sounded inside the cockpit. So the Valvraves' comm channels were still working. Good.

"I'm here," she replied.

"I hear you, Haruto."

"Sup!"

"M-me too..."

Saki blinked in surprise. That last voice... It was so easy to forget they had a fifth pilot now.

"Akira-chan? Is that you?" Haruto sounded as surprised as Saki felt.

"Un." The squeaky voice grunted in the affirmative.

"Where are you?" Inuzuka-senpai asked.

"Outside."

"What the hell's going down out there?" Yamada demanded.

"Attacked. Module's hit."

"We're hit? How bad?" Saki wanted to know.

* * *

_'How bad?'_

Akira struggled to frame a response. There was a gaping hole in the sloped underside of the Module, so big that several Valvraves could fit inside. Looking into it, she could see the ragged edges of several decks. The edges of the gash were slagged and melted, clearly the result of some kind of weapons fire. She struggled to frame a response. Should she talk about meters? She couldn't estimate how big the gap was just by looking. How many decks she could see? The hole was uneven, showing as few as three decks in some places, as many as five in others.

"B-bad." She managed. "Come quick."

* * *

Kichuksana watched the purple Valvrave drifting around the hole they'd shot in the Module. The humanoid craft seemed lost and directionless, flitting to examine the damage from one angle, and then another.

_'According to Chamca's intelligence files, that's the hacking unit... by far the most dangerous of the bunch to this mission.'_

The fact that the enemy had deployed _this_ unit first was a bad sign. It hinted that they suspected some kind of internal sabotage. Although Kichuksana didn't think much of his enemy's strategy for sending out a lone unit without support, he was also aware that as the last unit to appear, the purple unit had much less information in Chamca's files than the others. And its combat capabilities were largely unknown.

This was the make or break moment. If that Valvrave unit attempted to hack the Module systems, they would have to begin phase two. And phase two was still a contingency plan. It introduced a great many more variables into the situation-variables which had the potential to go wrong. Better to keep things as simple as possible.

But no, the hacker Valvrave continued to bumble about pointlessly, giving Kichuksana the odd impression of a dismayed housewife examining a piece of broken furniture. It eventually settled into a hunkered position on the surface of the Module's hull, staring down into the hole and not even bothering to keep a watch on its surroundings.

 _'Amateur. No situational awareness at all.'_ Not that there would be anything to see, even if the pilot remained alert.

"We have additional contacts!" The Tactical Officer announced. "Four enemy units launching from the Module. It's the other Valvraves."

"Give me visual!" Kichuksana barked. The viewscreen changed to a feed of the four approaching Valvraves, curving around the Module towards the damaged point. The purple Valvrave came into the shot as it rose from its position and flew to meet the others.

_'Colorful bunch.'_

All five Valvraves were assembled around the hole now. But they seemed just as helpless together as the purple unit had been by itself. Kichuksana watched as the red one dropped down into the hole, presumably to examine the damage from inside.

"Should we take action?" The T.O. asked. "All the Valvraves are gathered. If we strike now..."

"No," Kichuksana replied. "Everything is proceeding according to Chamca's plan. There's no need to go to phase two. Not unless the Valvraves force our hand."

* * *

En route to the hanger, Mikhail tried to contact Tokishima Haruto, only to discover the cell phones were out.

That by itself could be taken as a complication of the power outage, but...

_'This close to the ARUS Modules on the moon, the phones should be in signal range of other transmitters. The fact that they are not functioning suggests jamming. Most likely military.'_

_'And that breeze means a hull breach. A bad one.'_

A coordinated attack then. Timed to coincide with the power outage as a distraction. No, the power outage itself was a deception. Airlock doors were locked open all over the Module, and in case of catastrophic shutdown of the Module main computer, like the kind that would be caused by a power outage, the doors were supposed to close on their own. The fact that they were open now suggested that someone had merely used the system to turn off all the Module's lights and other electronics to simulate an outage. And that meant-

_'There is a saboteur aboard the Module.'_

Mikhail kicked himself mentally for the lax security. But it couldn't be helped. None of the students were trained in security protocol, and his own face was known to the ARUS government since his capture, so he had to keep well away from any ARUS personnel. Module 77 was awash in ARUS aid workers and technicians and businesspeople and petty government officials. All of them were documented on their way into the Module by security cameras, of course, and he and A-Drei spent a good amount of time checking boarders' faces against their memorized files of known agents, ARUS and Dorssian. But that had clearly not been enough.

_'The simulated outage shuts down the bridge and decapitates our chain of command, and jamming the cell phones prevents secondary means of communication. And if the shaking a moment ago was any indication, we're under fire from outside. But why lock the doors open? Why haven't they fired on us again since the initial attack? Have the Valvraves already engaged them?'_

It was Cain again. It had to be. The level of sophistication in the attack couldn't be attributed to anyone else. Mikhail had hoped for some kind of reprieve, a period of quiescence while the Dorssians dissected their stolen Valvrave. And he had thought that even Cain would not be so reckless as to violate the Lunar Neutrality Treaty. But clearly he was wrong.

_'The first step must be to reestablish communication with the Valvrave pilots. In particular with Renbokoji Akira. I'll need her talents to restore the Module's systems.'_

They were at the hanger now, and a glance around the cavernous room showed Mikhail all he needed to know. The Valvraves were gone. Otamaya Yusuke and some of the other student engineers were there in the hanger, looking fearful and uncertain. He'd missed the chance to speak with the pilots before their deployment.

"Hey! L-Elf! Good to see you!" Otamaya called out, starting to run towards him but stopping short at the sight of A-Drei. "Uhm, who's that...?"

L-Elf approached Otamaya, recalling some of the security camera footage he'd seen months ago, of the student helping Kibukawa Takumi with the Valvraves. In truth, Kibukawa would be better for the task he had in mind, but only Otamaya was available at the moment. He pulled out his cell phone and held it out, speaking quickly and urgently. "Otamaya Yusuke, I need your help. We must reestablish contact with the Valvraves."

Otamaya stopped scrutinizing A-Drei and gingerly took the phone. "T-there's not much I can do. The problem isn't local, I don't think. The power outage must have knocked out the Module's transmitter, and the cell phones can't-"

"I don't want you to _fix_ the cell phone," Mikhail clarified. "I want you to _modify_ it."

"Modify it? How?"

"Do you still remember the Valvraves' transmission frequency from when you worked on their communication systems?"

Otamaya blinked. "You want... I see. Maybe. I'll need to replace the oscillating transductors, of course. And I'll need a way to boost the signal. But it could work." An excited glint appeared in his eyes. "Yeah! It would work!" He looked around the hanger. "Tools. I need tools."

Mikhail watched as Otamaya quickly ran over to a wall-mounted gearbox. He pulled the entire fixture off its hook, ran into the hanger control room, and got to work.

* * *

The damage really _was_ bad.

Haruto edged his Valvrave back out of the breach, being careful not to scrape any of the sides. The hole was wide enough as it was. The others were waiting for him outside.

"So? Haruto, what'd you see?" Inuzuka-senpai asked.

"It's like we thought. All the airlock doors down there are open, just like on the rest of the Module. I don't know how long it'll take for the Module to lose all its air, but we don't have much time."

"So what now?" Yamada grumbled. "How do we fix this?"

Haruto didn't have an answer for him. They'd launched expecting a fight, only to find nothing but Little Witch floating around the breach. There were no enemy vessels; only the cratered white expanse of the moon's surface surrounded them. Who'd attacked them? And why would they fire once and then leave?

_'What's going on here? None of this makes any sense! If only I could get in contact with L-Elf. He'd know what to do.'_

No, that kind of thinking was counterproductive. L-Elf wasn't there at the moment, and he couldn't always depend on L-Elf to spoonfeed him every solution. He had to take charge of the situation. Try to resolve it himself.

"Plug it with something? Like... asteroids, maybe?" Saki offered.

Haruto glanced around. There were no asteroids in sight.

"If there ain't no asteroids around, maybe we could _make_ some!" Yamada said. "We could go down to the moon, right? And haul up some moon rocks to fill the hole!"

"That'd take a while..." Inuzuka-senpai pointed out. "And can the Valvraves even manage to reach lunar escape velocity?"

"No clue! No way to know till we try!"

"I'd rather go with something a little less harebrained..." Saki muttered.

"Let's see ya come up with something then, ya ditz!"

"I just did, didn't I? Asteroids!"

Haruto dropped back down into the hole, feeling helpless. The Valvraves were such awesome weapons, but it wasn't their destructive powers he needed at the moment. What he needed was...

_'A really, really big caulking gun. Or some kind of glue. And as powerful as the Valvraves are, they can't do-'_

_**The liquid green hard light oozed through the cracks in the crystals covering VVV II's face as Carmilla's fist pulled away, until the emerald surface was smooth and unmarred again.** _

_'If Unit Two could do that...'_

He held up his Valvrave's hands, turned them over to examine the hard light emitters on the back of the wrists. Could he do something similar with VVV I?

_'Like Yamada said, no way to know until I try it!'_

Haruto put VVV I's hand near the edge of the breach and toggled the hard light emission. He slowly drew the mech's hand along the side of the breach, leaving behind a shimmering red trail. At the far edge, he turned off the hard light and and gingerly pulled the Valvrave's hand away.

The ruby slab of hard light held firm.

_'That's one... can I do another?'_

He started on another hard light slab. He'd been worried about how he was going to join them together, but that, it seemed, was unnecessary. As the light poured from the emitter, it melded seamlessly into the first slab he'd made, joining them together into a smooth crimson shell. Almost as if the Valvrave anticipated what he was trying to do...

Too excited to worry much about the details, Haruto started on a third slab. "Hey guys!" He called out over the comm. "I think I have a solution!"

* * *

Kichuksana stared in surprised horror at the Valvraves swarming around the hole. As they moved, they left behind a glimmering multicolored shell molded from the Light of Rune. While their work wasn't very fast, they would have the hole sealed in a few dozen minutes.

_'Not just one, but all of them. The versatility-!'_

It was that fact which dismayed him, touched something buried deep within, a small and frightened part from his past life. Before Earth, before he was Magius. He hadn't been a technical cera, and he hadn't understood much of the old prayukti pulsing around him for so many cycles. But he did know of their limitations. It was those limitations which had defined their roles as cera, forged their identities and continued to shape their lives even now on Earth. All these centuries later, it was the line between himself and the others on the Phantom, the real reason why he commanded and they obeyed, although in theory, all Magius stood equal.

For the humans to so casually brush aside those limitations of the old prayukti... how was this possible?

No matter. He shouldn't be considering such things now. Not when there was a mission to complete. The Valvraves could not be allowed to seal the breach.

"The Valvraves are sealing the breach!" The T.O. said, somewhat unnecessarily.

"Begin Phase Two." Kichuksana commanded. "Launch the Splicers. And warm up our weapons. We may need to go into combat." He took another look at the Valvraves. He had been too unsettled to realize it before, but at least the Valvrave pilots' civilian nature was on full display: all five were repairing the breach, whereas any soldier would have left at least one unit on guard. He would be sure to take full advantage of their inexperience.

* * *

Saki was so preoccupied laying down tracks of hard light that she jumped in surprise when Carmilla's proximity alarm beeped.

She quickly brought up her rearview display. There were about a dozen objects flying around near the Module now: small white fast-moving craft. Carmilla's threat recognition popup told her that they were ARUS Splicers, Z-type, unknown configuration.

_'Unknown configuration? What does that mean?'_

"Hey hey! It's ARUS! Alright!" Yamada cheered.

"ARUS fighters? Are they here to help us out?" Haruto wondered.

"Aren't Splicers prohibited from entering the Neutral Zone?" Inuzuka-senpai pointed out. "So what are these doing here?"

A chill went down Saki's spine as she remembered the last time ARUS had betrayed them. Was this another plot to seize the Valvraves? She magnified her view of the Splicers. These were painted white instead of the usual blue with pink highlights, and in place of the ARUS insignia they were decorated with a small black rectangle containing a scribble of white text.

"Hail them?" Haruto asked. "Uhm, hello? Hello? ARUS craft, this is Valvrave Unit One. What are your intentions?"

They waited for a moment. No response.

"Can you make out what that insignia on them says?" Inuzuka-senpai asked.

"C-can't. Too small. Keeps moving." Akira-chan volunteered.

"What the hell? Are there more of them now" Yamada asked. "Couldn't've been more than a dozen before..."

 _'There definitely ARE more of them... Two dozen, maybe? Where are they coming from?'_ Saki couldn't shake her uneasy feeling.

"At least they're not getting any closer." Haruto said after another moment. "We can't just sit here staring forever; that breach still needs-LOOK OUT!"

The Valvraves scattered as a volley of-something, Saki couldn't make out what-flew towards them from the massed Splicers. The attack hadn't been entirely expected, however, so even as Carmilla darted away...

-Thok!- -Thok thok thok thok!-

A sound like hail hitting rooftops rattled through the cockpit, but Carmilla didn't shake at all. Saki glanced down at her console quickly, but there was no indication of damage to her mech. Little Witch was floating nearby, and Saki noticed gobs of some kind of orange goo stuck to various bits of the purple Valvrave's body. She was reminded uncomfortably of the silver thingies that the Dorssians were so fond of using, but this stuff seemed pretty inert, if sticky...

"The hell is this shit?" Yamada screamed over the comm.

"Waitaminute, waitaminute!" Inuzuka-senpai exclaimed. "I know what this stuff is! It's SEALANT!"

"Eh? Why the hell are they attacking us with sealant?"

"It's not an attack at all!" Inuzuka-senpai went on excitedly. "I think they're trying to help us seal the breach! We just got in the way!"

"Ohhhh! I see!"

Saki shook her head. She didn't agree at all with Inuzuka-senpai's assessment. Those shots had clearly been aimed at the Valvraves, and she was just about to tell him so, when-

"They're firing again!" Haruto exclaimed.

Saki jerked Carmilla away from the projectiles, but for some reason, the movement came out at a much shallower angle than she'd expected, and instead of completing evading the volley of sealant globs flying at her, Carmilla only managed to dodge half of it.

-Thokthokthokthokthokthokthok!-

"Dammit! Don't you ARUS bastards have eyes? The breach is over there!" Yamada howled in outrage. "This shit is seriously cramping Nobu Lightning's style!"

_'Why isn't Carmilla moving properly?'_

It was another glance at the nearby Little Witch that told Saki what was happening. Little Witch's left knee joint was covered with a glob of the orange sealant, preventing it from fully flexing, and the purple Valvrave was spinning in a slow tumble as its leg thrusters fired at different angles.

_'They're trying to disable the Valvraves!'_

Haruto apparently had come to the same conclusion. "It _is_ an attack!" He exclaimed. "This stuff is preventing the Valvraves from moving! We need to take those Splicers out!"

"Suits me just fine!" As always, Yamada was gung ho.

"Wait!" Inuzuka-senpai cautioned. "Are you sure about that, Haruto? What if it's all a misunderstanding, and we accidentally killed some of them? We need ARUS' help!"

"But, Senpai! We can't just-" Haruto was cut off by another voice over the comm.

"-alvraves, do-read me? This is-repeat, Valvra-you read me?"

For a moment, Saki thought that the Splicers were hailing them. But no, even through the static and distortion, the voice was unmistakeable.

"L-Elf?" She exclaimed. Was he contacting them from the bridge? Why was the audio quality so bad?

"L-Elf, is that you?" Haruto asked. "Is the Module's power back on?"

For a moment, Saki heard another voice in the background on the comm, too soft and distorted to make out the words. Then there was a pop, and L-Elf was suddenly speaking loud and clear.

"Negative. Otamaya Yusuke modified my phone to transmit on this frequency. The Module's condition isn't due to a power outage. It's been deliberately sabotaged."

"L-Elf, we're under attack out here!" Haruto said. "By ARUS!"

At that moment, the Splicers fired again. Instead of the orange sealant globs, brilliant beams of blue energy lanced outwards. But instead of being aimed at the Valvraves, the beams converged on the breach in the Module, striking the partially formed shell of hard light and blasting it apart.

_'They're trying to suffocate everyone onboard!'_

"You bastards!" Saki shrieked, driving Carmilla forward. "I won't let you!"

* * *

Akira couldn't pull Little Witch out of her tumble.

Theoretically, she knew the problem: because of the sealant in the Valvrave's left knee joint, her leg thrusters were pointed in slightly different directions, so instead of pushing forward, one thruster pushed forward and the other sent her slightly off-course, resulting in a slow spin.

Theoretically, she also knew how to solve it. Point the thruster on the right leg in the same direction as the left leg, and then adjust the angle of Little Witch's upper body to match.

Practically, she had no idea how to execute that kind of maneuver. In some arcane way, she'd found that she'd simply _known_ how to pilot the Valvrave the first time she'd gotten in it, without really understanding how she knew. She'd wanted to fly upwards, to grab onto the Dorssian drill, to pull the Hummingbird free and swing it. And her body had simply moved automatically, manipulated the right controls for Little Witch to perform those actions. Like a reflex.

But that preloaded knowledge was working against her now. Without learning or experience, she just didn't know how to compensate for Little Witch's limited movement. And the more she thought about how to move, the more confused she got.

The movements of the other Valvraves confirmed her theory. Tokishima-san and Saki-chan, the most experienced pilots, were the least encumbered, Carmilla roaring into action and VVV I following after a brief false start. Thunder and Inuzuka-san were a bit more lumbering. Inuzuka-san, in particular, was headed toward the Splicer swarm in an S-shaped curve, his blue Valvrave continually drifting off track.

_'Those Splicers...'_

Akira didn't really buy the idea that their attackers were from ARUS. Yes, ARUS had betrayed them before, but there was just something fishy about what was happening now. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it felt like may be one of those... what did all those conspiracy nuts on the internet call it again? A 'false flag?' Something like that?

_'Gah! Don't just zone out, Akira! Everyone needs your help! Get in there!'_

She toggled her right hand control only. If the left leg couldn't aim its thruster, then she'd only use the right thruster. Simple, right? Carmilla and VVV I had reached the Splicers by now, and she steered Little Witch towards the blossoming explosions. It was a little slow, but she'd get there.

"Renbokoji Akira, I have a task for you," L-Elf announced over the comm.

 _'What the hell? He thinks he's just going to start giving ME orders?'_ Akira's upper lip curled. She started to tap through menus on her console with one hand. Maybe there was some way to mute the Dorssian's transmissions...

"The individual that sabotaged the Module systems is most likely still onboard. All the control surfaces in the Module have been disabled..."

There was L-Elf's audio channel! Akira paused with a fingertip over the mute option. It'd be really, really satisfying to squelch that proud, overbearing voice...

_'Just assume everybody's yours to to order around, will you? Ha! How about you learn for once that not everyone's willing to put up with your shit?'_

"...The Module will continue to lose atmosphere until we regain control of the airlocks. I need you to use Unit Six to hack into the Module's systems and get control back from the saboteur."

Akira let out a growl. As much as she would have loved to squelch the hated L-Elf, he was making alot of sense. Any of the Valvraves could fight, but she was the only one that could fix the Module. And while she didn't want to admit it, being the only one able to undo this saboteur's efforts propped her ego up just a little. She thought about replying, decided against it as being too much effort, and steered Little Witch towards the breach.

She settled Little Witch into the hole, unlimbered the Hummingbird from its holster, and tapped part of the wall. Shining green lines raced away from the point of contact, building new circuits that linked into the Module's systems. She tapped furiously at her console. Yup, L-Elf was right. The power outage was no more than a veneer; the lights and electrical systems were down, but the power was still humming and the main computer system was still operational.

"Renbokoji Akira, please respond," L-Elf said.

Akira growled softly again, groping for her cellphone. No way she was talking to the guy. He'd have to settle for a text instead. And while she was at it she could throw him a few choice remarks too...

Her phone wasn't getting a signal. She stared at it in horror. Of all the times!

Well, no worries there, she'd soon have the Module systems back up and running, and even without her response L-Elf would know quickly enough once the power came back on who was responsible. She tapped away at her touch screen, quickly accessing Module control systems-

-or not. Someone had rewritten the system's security protocols, adding a new set of password checks. That was fine though, like any good hacker, she had several backdoors she'd created previously just in case. It'd only take a few moments more to access one of them and bypass the new security.

The backdoor dumped her into the same new security prompt. Akira gnashed her teeth in frustration. Whoever this saboteur was, they were good. She tried another backdoor. Then another, only to come up with the same result.

As she checked through a succession of backdoors, she was half aware that the others were still speaking over the comm, their voices getting more and more agitated.

"I didn't know Splicers were this manuverable?"

"Shit! The left arm ain't closing back up!"

"Don't run away from me, you bastard!"

"Are they still coming? Where are they coming from?"

None of her backdoors were working. It looked like she was down to tackling the password protection head-on. Akira clenched her fists. All that custom software she'd written just for this purpose, the breaching tools she'd spent years perfecting, inaccessible. Because it was all back on her computer in her cardboard house, and somehow, she hadn't had the presence of mind to transfer them over to Little Witch.

"Renbokoji Akira, do you copy? Please respond," L-Elf said again.

"I'M DOIN' IT!" She screamed, just to shut him up. Fine, they wanted to play this the old fashioned way? She could play. She swiftly went to work on the onscreen keyboard, hammering out algorithms for a simple program that would brute force the password lock on the system, her thoughts racing.

_'Gotta make sure the program can bypass the password failure lockout! Need an algorithm to change the session ID after every third failure...'_

Even as she worked, she knew it wouldn't be good enough. When she'd first started she'd thought she could gain access to the control system within a few minutes. But now she was looking at half an hour to an hour, maybe even a _few_ hours, while the algorithm ran. That timeframe was fine for breaking into government databases, or decyphering encrypted military transmissions, but not for a battle situation. Not while the Module was losing more air with every passing second.

"Renbokoji Akira, are you encountering difficulties?" L-Elf asked.

 _'Is he making fun of me?'_ Akira's hands froze over the screen, momentarily too upset to continue. But no, the Dorssian's voice, arrogant though it was, contained no hint of mockery; he was merely trying to find out more information.

Trying to work through this crisis, the same as they were.

It was that realization that made her willing to to cooperate with him, at least for now. As much as she loathed him, she had to admit that her progress was too slow. L-Elf was supposed to be some kind of military genius, right? Maybe if she told him what was going on he could figure out another avenue of attack she missed.

"S-security lockout... Cha, changes to-to the system," she started. "My backdoors, I, I can't... I can't... I can't..."

The words wouldn't come. It was too big, too complicated, too much panic bubbling up in her chest. But without her phone to text, what other option was there? Akira tried again, the words tumbling out in a meaningless stammer.

"Security lockout. I, I'm locked out. Can't access. Breaching soft, software in the Module. Algorithms. Need, need new ones! I-I wrote them. But, they won't, they won't, NO TIME! I can't!"

Akira trailed off into whimpers. It was too much. The words just wouldn't come. They died in her throat and emerged as a wordless whine. She frantically tried to choke that off; sitting in silence would be preferable to the pathetic sounds she could hear herself making, but no good. Her hands had come off the keyboard now and were ruffling uncontrollably through her hair.

"You can!"

The rough voice cut through her blubbering. Akira stared at the console, her mouth hanging open.

"You _can_ do it! You saved our asses with that hacking of yours before, didn't ya? You can do it again!" It was Thunder.

He didn't understand. She tried to explain.

"Not hacking. I _can_ hack! It's, I just, I can't. Explain. Too big."

There was a pause. And then...

"Can't get the words out? I get it! Y'know, it may not seem like it, but even the great Thunder gets a little tongue-tied sometimes! You just gotta simplify! Tell em the important stuff, and drop the rest!"

_'The important stuff?'_

Thunder was right, Akira suddenly realized. All the circumstances around the hacking wasn't important. The threat to the Module was the time before the air ran out. So the only thing she had to talk about was the TIME!

"P-password lockout. On system control." She said, thinking hard about each word before she said it. It was still difficult, but no longer the nigh-impossible task she had before. "Brute forcing it. Half an-an hour. Maybe more."

"Let's try something else," L-Elf said. "You said system control has been locked out. Can you access a less important system? Like a Module diagnostic?"

"Think so..." Akira tapped in the commands. She could indeed run a Module diagnostic. What was the Dorssian up to? "Yes."

"Run a check on the airlock doors. See if there's any that are _closed_."

Akira understood. If the saboteur was still around, they had to be staying in a place which still had pressure. So if there was a part of the Module where all the doors were closed... She quickly typed in L-Elf's specifications.

It only took a few moments for the results to show up. And just as she suspected, there were closed doors. A whole bunch.

"P-power station. B-3."

Chapter 7 End


	8. Chapter 8 - Blackout Part 2

Mikhail suppressed the urge to sigh as he listened to Yamada Raizo pep talk Renbokoji Akira. He'd had a feeling something like this might happen the next time the mentally ill girl went out into battle. Renbokoji's instability was a liability. She couldn't be depended upon to handle any vital tasks, as evidenced by her falling apart on the spot.

_'She'll have to be replaced. But how? There's no way of knowing if Unit Six will accept a new pilot if she's killed, and who else among the students could fully utilize its capabilities? If I could bring X-Eins over, could I have her possess him, and then somehow override her will, so he could use Unit Six?'_

In any event, he couldn't depend on her to restore control of the Module. He'd have to handle that himself. And to do that he would have to find the saboteur and neutralize them. He listened to her broken explanation of the situation, requested a new set of data, waited for her response.

"P-power station. B-3."

"Understood. Stand by for further instructions, Valvraves. L-Elf out."

Mikhail looked down at the transmitting device which used to be his cell phone. Otamaya Yusuke had completely rebuilt the thing, and now it was an exposed mess of electronics and circuitry the size of his hand. Many of the components were shoddily attached and stuck out at odd angles; stuffing it into his pocket would probably break bits off, and he would need both hands free if he was going into a combat situation.

 _'I'll have to leave it behind.'_ He decided, and started issuing orders to the people in the room.

"A-Drei, we're going to power station B-3. Kamisugi Seiya, give me your phone. Otamaya Yusuke, I'm leaving the Valvrave transmission device. I'll contact you if I have to relay information to the Valvraves." He and the student technicians turned toward the sound of running footsteps, as a panting Kibukawa Takumi burst into the room.

"There you guys are!" Kibukawa exclaimed. "Have the Valvraves sortied? There's a breach in the Module and-" He caught sight of A-Drei, and his eyes widened. "YOU! What are you doing here?"

"I've decided to join your cause." A-Drei explained simply.

"Unh-huh." Kibukawa eyed A-Drei suspiciously, then turned back to Mikhail and the students, evidently realizing this wasn't the time. "None of the shelters' doors will close. But there's some ARUS people onboard who've asked us to gather everyone in the gym. We need to get going."

Mikhail made a snap decision. Neither he nor A-Drei were technicians. He'd been thinking they could capture and force the saboteur to fix the damage to the Module, but that was an unreliable plan. Better to have an engineer along with them. "Kibukawa Takumi," there's something you must know." He explained the situation to the military scientist turned physics teacher.

"I see." Kibukawa nodded. "Alright, I'll come with you to the electrical station, L-Elf. The rest of you students, get up to the gym!"

* * *

The flare of an explosion lit up the main viewscreen, as the corresponding 'pilot' display turned red. That marked the tenth Splicer down. Kichuksana watched silently, quite pleased with how the battle was going. He had twenty-eight Splicers remaining, and after the initial salvo in which the Valvraves downed seven Splicers within seconds, the tide was rapidly turning in his favor.

_'The humanoid shape gives them unparalleled versatility, but all those points of articulation are also their weakness!'_

The sealant ploy wouldn't have worked on any ARUS or Dorssian ships: ARUS ships were built with fixed chassis, and their thrusters and weapons were recessed into protective alcoves. Dorssian fighters and ships had more points of articulation, but nothing compared to the number the Valvraves had. And no matter how tough the Valvraves' armor was, it couldn't help them one bit against physical obstruction of their joints.

The Valvraves were encrusted with globs of the orange sealent; their movements were clumsy now, their shots going far wide of their targets. What attacks that did hit were more due to random chance than any skill. The yellow unit, in particular, had given up all pretenses of aiming and was just firing weapons from each of its multiple arms at random. Shameful, really.

The increased manuverability of his modified Splicers also contributed to their success. After their makeover at Parnja's shipyard, they were now capable of far greater speeds and tighter turns than they were before. The increased g-forces of those new manuvers were now unsafe for human pilots, as demonstrated by the occupant of Splicer #38, who had flatlined a few seconds after deployment from a cerebral hemorrhage. But of course that didn't matter, since the vessels were actually controlled via remote from the Phantom, and the 'pilots' within were just empty husks.

_'Those four Valvraves are no threat for the moment. What's concerning is the purple one.'_

The hacking unit seemed to have finally gotten its act together. While the other four units rushed forward to attack, that one Valvrave had drifted into the breach. The edge of the hole obscured the Phantom's line of sight somewhat, but after a few initial movements it now seemed to be just sitting there.

_'Trying to get control of the Module again, no doubt. We'll have to do something about that.'_

"Get me a firing solution for the purple Valvrave!" Kichuksana ordered. "And swing the Splicers around to heading 73 by 134 by 61. I don't want those Valvraves looking anywhere near us when we fire!"

* * *

Another group of students, lit by their cell phones' LED lights, trickled in through the gymnasium's far doors, adding to the crowd that the ARUS aid workers had asked her to gather.

It was the engineers, from the looks of it. From her position on the stage at the other end of the room, Shoko caught the distinctive bulge of Seiya-kun's headphones around his neck. And the blue light glinting from Otamaya-kun's glasses.

_'What does that mean for Haruto and Akira-chan and the others? Is the fighting done so the enginnering crew could come up? Or is it getting too dangerous for them down in the hanger?'_

"Excuse me," she said to the fidgeting ARUS aid workers next to her, and rushed through the gathered students towards Otamaya-kun. Not for the first time she cursed the stiffness of her tailored suit. Oh, how she wished she could be back in her much more comfortable school uniform!

Otamaya-kun was peering around in confusion when she got up to him. He started as he spotted her; to him, she must have just appeared out of the gloom. He was holding something oddly-shaped in his left hand. "Sashi-I mean, Prime Minister!"

"Otamaya-kun, what's the sitch? Did you meet up with Kibukawa-sensei? He went out to find you guys a while ago!"

"Yeah! We met up with him in the hanger, and he told us to come here! But he and L-Elf have gone down to try and fix the problem with the power!"

"What about the Valvraves? Are Haruto and the others okay?"

"I'm not sure," Otamaya-kun said slowly. "They're fighting now, but they were okay when we last heard from them..."

"You heard from them?" Shoko was amazed. "How? Did you find some way to get the phones working?"

"With this!" Otamaya-kun said proudly, holding up the thing in his left hand. It looked like someone had taken apart several tablets and grafted their electronic guts together. "It's designed to transmit and receive the Valvraves' communication frequency! With it, we can talk to the Valvraves!"

"That's incredible!" Shoko clapped her hands together excitedly. "As expected of Otamaya-kun! Can you dial up-KYAAAAA!"

Someone collided with her from behind! Shoko stumbled forward, bumping into Otamaya-kun, who yelped and staggered, the communicator in his hand dropping to the floor with an audible crunch. She turned around, trying to figure out who ran into her.

"Sorry, Prime Minister Sashinami!" The ARUS aid worker-he'd introduced himself earlier as Carlos-said. "It's so dark, I didn't see you'd stopped! Are you okay?"

"I'm okay!" Shoko said quickly. "Otamaya-kun, the communicator?"

Otamaya-kun was stooped over, gathering something up from the floor. "Aaaah." He stammered. "It's, it's broken!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Carlos apologized. "Is that your phone? I'll pay you for it after we get outta here. But more importantly-"

"It's not a phone! It's a communicator!" Otamaya-kun wailed. "It was our only way to get in touch with the Valvraves!"

"Can you fix it?" Shoko asked.

"I can try..." Otamaya-kun was still searching on the floor. "If I can find all the pieces..."

"Lemmie help you!" Carlos knelt and started groping in the darkness too. "Here's one!"

"Me too!" Shoko started to bend down to help the search, but Carlos stopped her.

"You have more important things to do, Prime Minister! We don't have much time left, so do you think you could get another roll call started? We need to make sure nobody gets left behind when we evacuate!"

"Right!" Shoko nodded. She couldn't see very clearly because of the darkness, but did Carlos just surreptitiously pocket something? No. It had to just be her imagination. "I'll get on it!"

Straightening up, Shoko began to thread through the crowd in search of Nanami-sensei.

* * *

When all the Splicers swung around to one side of the Module, Saki immediately realized something was up.

After all, she'd been tricked by a manuver like this in the last battle, when the Waffe Irons created a gap in their formation to lead her into a trap.

_'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...'_

Still, there was a show to put on. If their attackers wanted so badly for them to look over there, they might not do... whatever it was they were planning to do if they thought Carmilla was on the lookout.

"Looks like audience participation is mandatory..." Saki mumbled to herself. "Alrighty, I'll play along."

She reoriented Carmilla to face the Splicers along with everyone else, a task made more difficult by the goop all over Carmilla's chassis. She even took the time to fling her single Spindle Knuckle-but instead of guiding its movement as she normally would, she let it spin off on its own and pulled up her rearview display, searching the skies behind her for any sign of what the enemy was trying to do.

_'What could the plan be? Are they bringing in reinforcements? Get us to look away so they could get a good shot at our exposed backs?'_

It had to be something like that. Even though Saki couldn't figure out where any reinforcement would come from. There was _nothing_ behind them. But then again, these Splicers had come out of nowhere, hadn't they? The situation was perfect: her Knuckle was curling back towards her now, and all she had to do was nudge it slightly as it passed, so it would sweep behind her and hit any-

"What the _hell_?" She exclaimed involuntarily.

The thing in the rearview display was so bizarre that she forgot to nudge her Spindle Knuckle, and the disc locked back onto Carmilla's arm instead of flying behind her as she'd intended. The stars in a vaguely rectangular field stretched, distorted, and disappeared, for a moment replaced by something dark and only partly visible, something with a metallic sheen. At the same time, a blue energy beam burst from the thing, lancing toward the Module-

-and then the apparition was gone, the stars returning to their original positions. The beam flew on to strike the breach in the Module, and the comm was filled with the sound of Akira-chan screaming.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Akira-chan! What happened?!" Haruto's voice was filled with concern.

"DON'T KNOW! I'M HIT! I'M HIT!"

Saki spun Carmilla around to see Little Witch burst from the breach, trailing a cloud of dust. She struggled to get her mind around what was happening. Just what had she seen?

A similar sight from long ago came back to her. A black woman looking over the shoulder of the man she was embracing, to see her reflection fading away in the mirror. Not quite the same thing, and not a very good movie; she'd only watched it once before deleting the file from her phone. But it gave her enough grounding to understand what was going on.

"You okay, Rainbow?" Yamada asked.

"Un! I, I'm okay!"

"What was that? What hit you?" Inuzuka-senpai asked.

"Guys! I saw it! I know what happened!" Saki declared.

"What'd you see?" Haruto asked.

"It was..." Saki paused. It sounded so stupid, but... "It was an invisible ship!"

There was a pause. And then Yamada spoke, sounding incredulous. "'Invisible ship?' What, you mean like, cloaked? This ain't science fiction!"

"But that's what it was! I saw it!"

"How'd ya see it if it was cloaked?"

"It decloaked to fire!" Saki was getting exasperated. "Look, I know what I saw, okay?"

"That would explain where the Splicers came from..." Inuzuka-senpai said slowly. "But that kind of technology doesn't _exist_! Who the hell are these guys?"

"It doesn't matter who they are right now," Haruto said. "Akira-chan can't get any hacking done while that cloaked ship is around. How do we deal with it?"

"Same as any other enemy! We blow it outta the sky!" Yamada roared.

"No, _wait_!" Saki yelled, but it was too late. Nobu Lightning had already spun around, spraying fire at where the invisible ship had been. The rain of green bolts flew unimpeded through space without touching anything.

"Wait? Why?"

"We had an advantage!" Inuzuka-senpai explained. "If they didn't know that we knew they were here, we could have used that!"

"Oh. Shit."

* * *

Mikhail was huffing and puffing by the time the trio arrived at the power station Renbokoji Akira had mentioned.

It was a bad sign. He wasn't so out of shape that a run from the hanger to the station should take so much out of him. And he recognized the symptoms from high altitude training he'd participated in in the past. The Module's atmosphere was getting noticeably thinner.

A-Drei was similarly blown, and Kibukawa Takumi was doing even worse. JIORan military training wasn't up to normal Dorssian training, much less Karlstein training. Add to that the fact that Kibukawa had likely been slacking off during his assignment to the Module and that he'd already been running in the reduced atmosphere for some time... The tall JIORan looked like he was ready to collapse.

_'No time for a rest...'_

As Renbokoji had indicated, the main door to the station was closed. Mikhail tried it. Locked. He nodded to A-Drei, who immediately went to work, removing a wall panel and patching the tablet he was holding into the exposed wiring.

The tablet and the codebreaking software on it was the exact same model they'd used on their initial infiltration into the Module. After boarding, the Karlstein team had stashed caches of equipment and weapons in strategic locations. On their way down from the hanger, they'd paused to retrieve the tablet and some small arms.

"...wish X was here, he'd have this open already..." A-Drei mumbled.

"I don't mind. Really." Kibukawa leaned against the wall, looking over the Dorssian-made weapon they'd given him. "Gives me a chance... to catch my breath." He peered down the handgun's sights. "Been a while... since I used one of these."

"Really? _You've_ used one before?" A-Drei grunted.

"Yeah. I may not be in the same club as you super secret agents, but I've seen combat." Kibukawa pulled back the slide and checked the chambered round. "Argis TI3 semi-automatic. Not my bag, really," he said critically. "Not enough stopping power."

"But they're easy to conceal," Mikhail was a little miffed that a JIORan, of all people, was criticizing his choice in weaponry.

Kibukawa chuckled. "Yeah, I guess concealment is a big thing for you guys," he went on in a dry tone. "Must be a pretty good gun for sneaking into other peoples' Modules."

"Got it!" A-Drei hissed. The door emitted a beeping sound and whooshed open.

The hallway beyond the portal was as dark as the rest of the Module, and Mikhail aimed down the corridor using his headlamp, his gun in both hands. No hint of hostiles. He moved cautiously into the hallway, speaking briefly to the others. "I'll take point. A-Drei, rear."

A-Drei unhooked his tablet and moved through the doorway after Kibukawa. As he stepped past the threshold, the door suddenly hissed shut behind him. Mikhail shot him a questioning glance.

A-Drei shook his head. "Wasn't me."

"They know we're here, then." Mikhail said for Kibukawa's benefit. "Stay sharp."

They slowly moved through the power station, alert for traps or signs of the enemy. But they met no impediment. It was a few degrees warmer here than outside, and Mikhail noted that it was much easier to breathe as well. He'd been apprehensive that they would have to electronically break through every door in the facility, but other than the exterior door, all the doors here were open.

_'They'll mostly likely ambush us, if they know we're here. And they most likely know we're here. There's no reason why they wouldn't be watching the entrance. But what are they waiting for? Advantageous terrain? Or were they really unprepared for an intrusion?'_

To Mikhail's surprise, they never made contact with the enemy. The trio continued unopposed all the way to the control room door. Unlike the others, this one was closed and locked.

_'Insufficient numbers to engage us? So rather than confront us they decided to hole up? How unprofessional. It's better to try and break out of a surround than to wait for the net to close in on you. In that case there are probably no more than two individuals. It should be possible to bring them down as soon as the door is open.'_

A-Drei patched his tablet into the door controls while Mikhail and Kibukawa took up positions on either side of the door, ready to spring into action the moment the door opened. They waited...

The door beeped, and Mikhail swung his gun up and around-but the door was still closed. He glanced over at A-Drei, who looked puzzled.

"Lock's released..." Kibukawa whispered. "Might be physically jammed from the other side." He held up his handgun. "Not sure we can get through with these."

"I'll blow it." A-Drei whispered. He removed his false eye from the socket and twisted it. The glass shell fell away to reveal its payload-a small gob of plastic explosive and a micro-detonator. Kibukawa looked impressed.

A-Drei molded the plastic explosive into the seam between the door and the wall, and all three soldiers backed away. A-Drei nodded to them and held up four fingers. Three. Two. One.

BOOM! A chunk of the wall panel and door blew outwards, and the door slid back on its tracks. Mikhail turned into the opening, took aim at the single figure within the room-

-And a bright yellow light exploded in his face.

_'Flash grenade? Mikhail, YOU FOOL!'_

Mikhail threw himself back, seeking the cover of the wall, his vision spangled with purple and green afterimages from the flash. Someone rushed past him, slamming him to one side. He lashed out with his leg but missed in his half-blind state, and the hostile rushed past him into the hallway.

"Dammit." A-Drei hissed, sprinting down the hall. "After him!"

"I'll stay here and try to get the Module back online!" Kibukawa rushed into the room.

"Got it." Mikhail blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision. He could see well enough to make out the floor by now, and that was enough. He took off after A-Drei.

* * *

He'd fucked up shooting at the invisible ship, and he knew it.

Still, Raizo had never been the type to dwell over his failures. You couldn't let your mistakes cripple you; the best way to make up for them was to push ahead! With guts and determination!

"Ora! Ora ora ora ora!" He bellowed as he pursued one of the Splicers. So what if Nobu Lightning's arms wouldn't close back up? So what if he wasn't moving as well as usual? He was gonna catch that sucker!

The Splicer tried a fast turn, the same move it had used to evade him a few times before. But he was ready for it this time! He flung out Nobu Lightning's left hand, grazing one of the Splicer's wing tips and sending it into a spin. Before it could recover, he grabbed hold of it with the Valvrave's main arms. There was alot of gunk stuck on Nobu Lightning's multi-arms, so he couldn't use his lasers well, but that didn't matter!

"MACHINE GUN PUUUUNCH!"

Raizo rained down blows on the captured Splicer, crumpling it up like a tin can, and then flung the wreckage towards another nearby Splicer, which dodged out of the way. He took off in pursuit of that one. "YEEEAAAH! COME GET SOME!"

Unfortunately, the other pilots weren't doing as well as he was.

Haruto couldn't hold on to his weapons anymore. He'd been the first to try and scrape the gunk off with his Valvrave's hands, only to get the stuff in between the finger joints, and now the hands wouldn't flex properly.

Rukino was doing pretty well with her laser disk yo-yo thing when the battle started, but some goop had gotten onto her arm, so instead of docking nicely the yo-yo had bounced off and went flying away. She was now firing Haruto's gun... but her aim was pretty bad.

Out of the other pilots, Kyuma was doing the best. He was turtling up behind his shields and taking shots slowly and carefully. He wasn't firing very often, but when he did, he almost always hit his mark. Not bad.

Rainbow was trying her best, but she was getting gunked up pretty bad. And the Splicers were keeping well away from her so she couldn't hit em with her stick and hack em.

_'I'll have to make up for it! There ain't any more Splicers showing up, so all we gotta do is get through these, and then that cloaked ship will have no choice but to fight us head on!'_

Raizo redoubled his efforts. ARUS, or whoever these bastards were, weren't gonna succeed. Not if Thunder had anything to say about it!

* * *

"So that's everyone but Kibukawa-sensei, L-Elf, the pilots, and Akaishi Midori." Nanami-sensei reported the results of the latest roll call.

Shoko bit her lip. Sensei, L-Elf, and the pilots were all accounted for. But Midori-chaan...

"You feel that, Prime Minister? Brrrr!" Nanami-sensei shivered. "It's getting cold in here!"

"Un." Shoko nodded. They couldn't wait much longer. If it was only one person versus everyone else here...

Other the prospect of having to sacrifice one of her fellow students, however, there was something else bugging Shoko. The situation was so oddly familiar, and she couldn't shake the creeping feeling of deja vu in the back of her mind.

_**The students huddled together fearfully in the near-darkness, awaiting an ARUS evacuation. Only to meet with betrayal.** _

But ARUS wouldn't betray them again, would they? She'd been apologized to time and again for the last incident, and assured repeatedly that Senator Figaro had been acting on his own. Shoko wasn't naturally a suspicious person, but...

_'Once bitten, twice shy. I can't afford to be naive anymore. Not when everyone's depending on me!'_

"Prime Minister!" It was Carlos, the ARUS aid worker. He pushed his way through the students toward her, clutching his earpiece. Behind him came a grim-faced Otamaya-kun.

"Sorry, Carlos! One moment!" She turned to Otamaya-kun, knowing the answer from his expression but having to ask anyway. "Did you get the transmitter fixed?"

"No good..." Otamaya-kun wailed. "Couldn't find all the pieces..."

"Prime Minister, please!" Carlos spoke up again. "We don't have much time left. What were the results of the roll call?"

"Just one student missing now," Shoko replied.

"If it's only one person..." Carlos mused. "That would be an acceptable loss, surely? We have to get everyone else off the Module!"

Shoko nodded, even as the bile rose in her throat at the mention of 'acceptable loss.' She swallowed it down and stared hard into Carlos' eyes, trying to work up the gumption to-

_'His eyes. There's something about his eyes.'_

Carlos' eyes held none of the worry present in his tone. No concern. They weren't even the dispassionate eyes of a man just doing his job. There was urgency, yes, but mostly...

_'A trick of the light? It's so dark in here and everything's that weird shade of blue from all the phone lights...'_

His eyes were... hungry. It was the best word she could think of to describe it. Carlos had eyes like those of a starving man, gazing at a plate of squid ink pasta.

It was that strange look in his eyes, combined with the deja vu crawling up her spine, that did it. She'd been studying up on history and political theory in the past few days when she wasn't in meetings, trying to get better at being a Prime Minister, and there had been so many cases throughout history of people being chased from their land and becoming wanderers, surviving only by the whims of other countries.

Most of the time, those countryless people didn't do so hot.

_'What if ARUS occupies the Module? Even if the people of ARUS support us, ARUS' government is acting in its own self-interest. We may be living on charity now, but at least we have a nation to call our own... without Module 77, we're just another band of refugees.'_

"I'm sorry, Carlos," Shoko began, feeling like the biggest, most paranoid ass in the universe. "But... we won't be evacuating. We're going to stay here with the Module."

"You, what?" Carlos' mouth fell open. "Prime Minister, you're kidding, right?"

"Nope. No joke," Shoko shook her head. "You've been a big help, but you and the other people from ARUS should get going. We'll be okay on our own."

"That's-that's absurd! You can't just-" Carlos' eyes narrowed, and he suddenly spun away from her, raising his voice and addressing the students. "Okay, everyone! We're going to start the evacuation now! So if you'll all form a nice orderly line, we can just-"

"We're not evacuating!" Shoko said loudly, cutting Carlos off. Her words rang with authority, surprising even her. "Everyone! We're staying here with the Module!"

The murmurs began immediately.

"But we'll run out of air!"

"Are you serious, Sashinami-san?"

"That's ridiculous! You're ridiculous!"

Shoko held up her hands placatingly. This wasn't going to be easy. "Everyone, please calm down and listen! This Module is the only thing we have left! If we evacuate, who knows when we'll be allowed to get back onboard? And it's not like..." She hesitated, not wanting to play the 'ARUS can't be trusted' card. But...

"ARUS hasn't exactly played straight with us before!" Another voice spoke from beside her. Shoko looked down to see Marie standing there. The tiny girl was glaring at the crowd, her normally placid face shining with passion. "The only ones we can really trust are ourselves! Shoko's our Prime Minister, and she's always done right by us!"

"That's right!" Someone in the crowd yelled. Shoko spotted the speaker: it was Takano-senpai, formerly of the drama club. "We can trust Shoko-chan!

Voices called out in agreement.

"I'm with you, Prime Minister!"

"Fuck ARUS! They shot Thunder!"

But others weren't convinced yet.

"This is garbage! You have brain problems!"

"You're not my Prime Minister! I didn't vote for you!"

"And I didn't vote for her either! But she's still my Prime Minister!" To Shoko's surprise, Takahi-senpai stepped up beside her, admonishing the last voice from the crowd. "This isn't the time for political squabbling! After a leader is elected, it's everyone's job to support them and help them do the best they can! Everyone has to pull together, or we all fall apart!"

"She's my Prime Minister too!" Following Takahi-senpai's example, Renbokoji-senpai also stepped up.

"And mine!" Otamaya-kun chimed in.

Then the members of her cabinet were all stepping in around her, each declaring their support. And now students in the crowd were picking up the chant as well. Shoko saw Carlos turn away in disgust, mumbling urgently into his earpiece. Beside her, Marie flashed her a crooked smile and she returned it, giving the smaller girl a thumbs up.

"So... you've got a plan, right?" Takahi-senpai asked quietly. "You're not going to suggest we sing again, are you?"

"I'm thinking."

"Oh, God." Takahi-senpai's hand flew to her forehead. "You really don't have a plan. We're all screwed."

"It takes time," Shoko said. Joking aside though, what _were_ they going to do, now that they'd turned away ARUS? Her fingers sought the comforting softness of her uniform skirt, only to encounter the stiffer starched material of her suit dress. She clutched the garment anyway; hanging onto it was better than nothing.

_'Think, Sashinami Shoko! If air's the problem... what's filled with air?'_

A balloon! But that was useless. How would that work? Breathe out of balloons?

_'What if we can put people into the balloons? Then they can breathe all the air they want!'_

But a balloon big enough... and sturdy enough so it wouldn't smush everyone together... where would she find something like that?

Sudden inspiration struck her. Shoko closed her eyes, envisioning the last Tanabata on the Module... Chokiba road was festooned with decorations, the buildings on either side of the street covered with colorful streamers as cheery people crowded the road, stopping to check out the various stalls set up for the holiday. And above them all floated...

Shoko opened her eyes. "Listen up, everyone!" She announced. "I've got an idea!"

* * *

The good news was the hostile seemed to be unarmed. And the fact that he was alone in the control room meant that he had to be the saboteur.

The bad news was the hostile was very, very fast on his feet.

Despite their Karlstein training, Mikhail and A-Drei couldn't quite catch up to him. No civilian should be capable of such a feat. Just who was this guy? He couldn't be from Karlstein; no one with their training would have allowed himself to be cornered like that. An ARUS agent of some sort?

_'He doesn't seem to be trying to lead us anywhere... he's just going in circles. is he trying to buy time?'_

As they ran, Mikhail noticed that it was the second time they'd passed a particular intersection. There was a hallway leading off to the left. If he was right... he signaled to A-drei to continue after the saboteur, while he himself took the hallway.

He raced down the hallway, took a left, a right, then another left. Through a doorway, and then back out into the main corridor-just as the saboteur turned the corner with A-Drei hot on his heels, heading towards Mikhail from six meters away.

Mikahil allowed himself to feel a small rush of satisfaction. _'No doubt you mapped it out ahead of time. But that predictibility of using the same route twice in a row allowed me to cut you off.'_

The saboteur looked nonplussed at being cut off. With no hesitation, he smoothly turned 90 degrees and ran through another doorway.

 _'That won't help you.'_ Mikhail caught up with A-Drei and they turned together into the doorway after the saboteur. _'I win again, Liselotte!'_

As he'd expected, the saboteur had stopped at the end of the dead end hallway, near a copier. He spun slowly to face them, a sheepish smile playing across his face. "Ah, crap." He said in flawless Japanese. "Looks like you caught me."

Mikhail considered shooting him. But if the saboteur was unarmed and posed no immediate threat, perhaps he could be forced to undo the damage to the computer systems. He aimed his gun at the man's face, responding in the same language. "Hands up where I can see them. Now."

"Of course, of course," the saboteur said placatingly, smiling as he held up his hands.

Mikhail kept his gun trained on the man, sizing him up as A-Drei moved in. The guy was wearing light blue overalls, with lots of pockets. Probably came in disguised as a technician on one of the ARUS work crews. Blond hair. Tall, well over 6 feet, and powerfully muscled. Perhaps late twenties or early thirties. It was hard to tell in the headlamp light, but the skin of his face seemed well-weathered, suggesting alot of time spent in the field, assuming he was a soldier. Mikhail briefly eyed the copier near the saboteur, decided it was useless as cover, and shifted his attention back to the man.

"That's some nice running you kids did there," the man said conversationally, his tone light. "You boys in track or something?"

"Don't talk," A-Drei warned.

"Alright, alright," the man continued to run his mouth. "No need to be so hostile. I'd almost think that..." He cocked his head, switching to accented English. "You're not JIORan, are you, mates?"

Mikhail wasn't the best at distinguishing such things in foreign languages, but the accent was... Irish? Maybe Australian? Certainly not the American accent he'd come to associate with most English-speakers from ARUS. Despite the man's casual tone, Mikhail now felt a faint air of menace from the saboteur. The man had stopped talking, but his mouth was still moving soundlessly, as if muttering something Mikhail couldn't catch.

 _'Is he speaking into some kind of transmitter? In his collar or an oral implant, perhaps?'_ Mikhail decided he'd take his chances with letting Kibukawa fix the computers. The saboteur was too much of a potential liability. He aimed his semi-automatic at the man's chest and squeezed off three rounds.

A wall of yellow crystals sprang up in front of the man, engulfing the hallway in blazing golden light. Three cracked pockmarks formed in its surface as the bullets smashed into it, sending bits of glimmering topaz flying off to evaporate into the air, but the man behind the wall was untouched. A-Drei yelped in surprise and leapt back.

"You're those Karlstein kids, right? Geez, you guys are bloodthirsty." The man remarked. "But it's a good thing you ain't JIORans, innit?"

_'He has the same abilities as Cain?'_

At his side, A-Drei was firing now, aiming for the man's head, his rounds having no more effect than Mikhail's. The pockmarks Mikhail had made in the shining wall were filling in, the gaps closing with new crystalline growths.

The saboteur grinned broadly, his face distorted grotesquely by the wall between them. As A-Drei's gun fell silent, several pea-sized orbs of golden light formed on Mikhail and A-drei's side of the crystal wall, rapidly swelling to the size of apples. "It means I get to kill ya!"

* * *

"Take us closer in to the Module. Not enough to lose line-of-sight on the Valvraves. But close enough that they won't risk firing in this arc."

Kichuksana was mildly annoyed. Even though all of the Valvraves had turned to track the Splicers' manuvers as planned, the yellow unit had somehow discovered their presence and unleashed a salvo in their direction-a salvo that would have hit, if they hadn't changed positions after their attack on the purple Valvrave, just in case.

_'The pilot of the yellow Valvrave must be unusually perceptive. But does he actually know we're out here, cloaked? Or was he just firing on a hunch? Either way, that one will bear watching.'_

Still, this changed nothing. All he had to do was delay until the evacuation was complete and the JIORans were removed from the Module and safely in the control of Magius agents among the ARUS evacuation team. Then it wouldn't matter what the Valvraves did. And according to the schedule, the evacuation should have started a few minutes ago...

"We're getting a transmission," the T.O. said. "It's from Apariharya."

"Good. Put him on!" Kichuksana ordered, anticipating the good news. Apariharya was with the ARUS evacuation team, and judging from the timing, he was probably calling to confirm that the evacuation was complete. About time too, considering they were down to twenty Splicers...

"There's a snag." Apariharya's voice came on the bridge speakers, whispering urgently over some kind of tumult in the background.

"A snag? What are you talking about?"

"The students are refusing to evacuate."

"What?" The statement was so ridiculous that Kichuksana could hardly process it. Of all the things that could have gone wrong with the mission, all the factors that he'd gone over with Chamca in meticulous detail, this was not something that had been considered. The evacuation itself was always understood to be a given. After all, even among humans, who would be stupid enough to stay on the Module in the face of certain death?

Had Apariharya not done his job properly? Was there some sort of gap in misunderstanding between him and the JIORans? "Did you make sure the students understood that they will _die of asphyxiation_ if they remain on the Module?" Kichuksana said, slowly and carefully.

"Yeah... they understand that." Apariharya said miserably. "But you see, they've..."

Kichuksana felt his host's mouth drop open as Apariharya explained the students' plan. It was quite possibly the stupidest thing he'd ever heard in his centuries-long existance among the humans. What kind of a mind would come up with this sort of thing?

 _'But there's no reason why it wouldn't work.'_ The more he thought about it, the more certain he was that as crazy as it seemed, it could be pulled off successfully.

"Understood, Apariharya." Kichuksana said. "Stand by for further instructions. I'll see what Dosi can do."

There was a click as the channel closed. And then another click as the T.O., anticipating his order, opened a line to Dosi, somewhere in the bowels of the Module. "We're connected," she reported.

_'Where would such a thing that the students were looking for be stored? Wouldn't be on the surface... not with all that storage space on the lower decks...'_

"Dosi, I need you to shut down surface access into the lower decks of the Module. Not all of it though; there still needs to be an open path between the dome and the breach." It might slow down the rate at which air was leaving the Module, Kichuksana reflected, but at least the evacuation would continue. He waited a moment for Dosi to respond. "Dosi? Do you copy?"

There was nothing but silence. He glanced over at the communication uplink display on his console to be sure. The indication light there burned green.

A chill went down his host's spine. Dosi had called in to report a few minutes ago that there were intruders in the power station, but had assured Kichuksana that he could handle them easily. And Kichuksana had taken Dosi at his word. After all, like him, Dosi had been a combat cera. And unlike him, Dosi possessed both defensive and offensive spells...

_'But what if he's taken or killed? Not likely, but with one Karlstein agent known to be hostile on the Module... and with that body of his, it could screw up our entire cover story!'_

Before the mission, he'd tried to get Dosi to take one of the Pashtun he'd taken in Afghanistan; it would be fine if one of the Splicers had no 'pilot,' since they were all remote-controlled anyway. But the Pashtun specimens were of poor quality: farmers and the sons of farmers, and Dosi had scorned their undernourished peasants' physiques, insisting that he partake in the mission using his recently acquired athlete host body.

It was pride and foolishness, and Kichuksana and Chamca had pushed the issue as far as they could, but ultimately had to back off. A Magius' choice of host was up to that Magius alone, and it wasn't their place to insist that Dosi switch bodies; they weren't Pradhana, or even humans, to attempt to order the lives of their fellows.

Dosi had given them reassurances. His body was only that of a minor celebrity, and it would be very unlikely for anyone on the Module to recognize him, he'd said. And even if he _was_ recognized, all he had to do was tell them they were mistaken, and they would accept it. It made no sense for an olympic athlete to be working as an electrician, after all.

"What should we do?" The T.O. asked.

Kichuksana came to a decision and switched off the link to Dosi's transmitter. "We continue our holding action against the Valvraves and wait for Dosi to reestablish contact. He must be dealing with the intruders now. Once he gets back to his post there should be something he can do, even if the JIORans have achieved their objective on the Module, their air supply there still won't last forever."

* * *

Takumi shook out his numb fingers, then continued to splice together electrical leads. He'd found a laptop lying on the floor next to a hole in the main console of the electrical station control room, with a slew of half-slagged wires hanging out of the hole. Presumably the saboteur had the laptop hooked into the console and had used it to gain control over the Module's systems. When he'd discovered Takumi and the Dorssians coming, he'd destroyed the uplink cables so they couldn't use the laptop. So now Takumi was in the process of laboriously stripping wires and splicing leads together in order to reconnect console and laptop. It was slow going, and the pads of his fingertips had deep red grooves pressed into them. Belatedly he wished he'd done more field work over the past few years, instead of just standing around in a classroom lecturing to students. Callouses would really help out right about now...

The laptop chimed. Takumi looked over to see a popup window, asking him if he wanted to accept a call. He hesitated just a moment before pressing yes.

An voice came over the line, speaking German in a melodic accent. It wasn't a JIORan accent, but other than that, Takumi had no idea where it was from. "Dosi, I need you to shut down surface access into the lower decks of the Module. Not all of it though; there still needs to be an open path between the dome and the breach."

_'Dosi? Is that your name, Saboteur-kun? Probably not, more likely a code name. I'll have to run that by L-Elf later...'_

"Dosi? You copy?"

For a moment, Takumi considered responding. But no, while he had some German, his vocabulary was rather small, and he had a rather thick accent. No way he could impersonate the saboteur. Better to just stay in the line and hope the voice on the other end gave away something useful.

There was silence on the line for a moment, and to Takumi's disappointment, the laptop chimed again as the call ended. He turned back to the wires, grateful for the reprieve the call had afforded to his aching fingertips, but also mildly annoyed at the waste of time.

_'There was some information, at least. The situation has changed somewhere else in the Module, otherwise that voice wouldn't have had to tell this Dosi character to shut down surface access. Just wish I knew what that meant...'_

The sound of echoing gunfire came through the blasted-open door of the control room. Cursing to himself, Takumi worked faster.

* * *

The Splicer turned away as soon as it saw him coming. Raizo cursed and pursued it anyway, even though he knew it was pointless unless the pilot fucked up. After seeing him catch the first few Splicers and crushing them, the others had stopped coming anywhere near him. His Valvrave was faster than the ARUS ships, and should have been more manuverable, but the crap all over Nobu Lightning was seriously gimping him, and as long as the Splicers kept changing course, he couldn't keep up.

His console beeped at him, and he glanced down at his thermal gauge. 85.

_'Shit. Overheating on top of everything else? Gotta back off...'_

"Yamada! Pull back for a sec!" Haruto called over the comm. "We've got a plan!"

"Yeah? Let's hear it!" Raizo pulled back towards the Module and the other Valvraves. He wasn't usually big on plans, but in this case it had to be better than chasing Splicers and risking overheating. "And for the last time, it's 'Thunder!'" How hard was it to remember a guy's name? You'd think he was asking the world...

"Okay, uhm... so, this cloaked ship is the problem, right?" Rukino spoke up, sounding pretty unsure. "Like, that's where all the Splicers came from, and if we can destroy it, the Splicers will probably go away?"

"Probably..." Kyuma pointed out the obvious. "But it's cloaked, so how do we destroy it? Just shoot until we hit it?"

"Well, I have kind of an idea about that..." Rukino continued. "Those Splicer pilots must be communicating with the cloaked ship, right? Otherwise they couldn't have organized that little manuver where they tried to make us look away earlier. So I was thinking, uh, if Akira-chan hacked one of the Splicers, we could maybe follow their, uh, signal back to the source?"

"That sounds..." Kyuma hesitated. "How do you know it'll work?"

"Well, that's, uh, how it usually works in the movies...,"

"Akira-chan, you know computers and stuff. Do you think it could work?" Haruto asked.

"Me-me? Uh..." Rainbow's voice was squeakier than usual. "N-not sure. Don't know engineering stuff..."

Raizo had had enough of their uncertainty. "Alright! That's good enough for me! Let's try it! Rainbow, you're with me!"

"Ah! O-okay! I'll, I'll do..."

"Wait up!" Haruto interrupted. "Thunder, I don't think the Splicers are just gonna let Akira-chan hack them. They've been staying away from her this whole time, so they might know what Little Witch can do. We need some way to pin them down first. And that's where you and your arms come in."

Raizo looked down at his console. The thermal gauge was ticking down to 75. "I'm close to overheating, but I'll give it a shot!"

"No need for that!" Rukino put in. "If they can play made-you-look games, so can we!"

* * *

As far as plans went, it was pretty simple. Good thing, too. Raizo hated complicated plans.

Haruto and Rukino, the two most affected by the sealant, moved down into the breach and were slowly and deliberately laying down more hard light to seal it. As Haruto had explained it, since their invisible enemy didn't seem to want the hole sealed, this gave them two options:

Shoot the breach themselves, which was just fine because the Valvrave pilots would know where the cloaked ship was.

Or send in the Splicers. The fighters couldn't come in directly because Kyuma's VVV V was floating in front of the breach with his shields ready. They'd have to flying around to make an attack run, and Nobu Lightning and Little Witch were waiting on either side of VVV V.

"Here they come!" Kyuma said. "They're taking option two. Get behind me, Akira-chan!"

"I see em." Raizo said. The Splicers were firing at VVV V and Little Witch-energy weapons this time instead of sealant. Little Witch ducked behind VVV V, the blue bursts of energy flaring harmlessly against its shields. Six Splicers broke off from the pack and swung towards Nobu Lightning as the rest kept firing, keeping Little Witch locked down. "Alright... come at me, ya suckers!"

The lead Splicer opened up on Nobu Lightning with its lasers, and he dodged as best he could without giving up his position. A few shots found their mark, and he did his best to ignore the shaking of the cockpit, focusing his attention on his opponents. His eyes picked over the six oncoming craft, trying to gauge their trajectories, even as he knew their pilots were also sizing him up.

He was reminded of a judo match, the moment after the bow and before the action started. Staring into the eyes of an opponent, trying to figure out what moves to use, how the opponent would counter those moves, and how he would counter those in turn. He found himself staring at the Splicers' manuvering jets, as if he were watching the legs of an opponent for the small telltale movements that indicated an attack. How would the Splicers move to avoid him? They were more manuverable than him, and they knew it. So they'd break in different directions to get around him, probably. Yeah, split up and try to confuse him with a bunch of targets.

Fuck that then. He'd pick his target first. His gaze slid over the first one. No, not that one. The trailing Splicers looked like they were following the first one's lead, so they wouldn't break until it did. If he chose one of the followers, he'd have slightly more time to react... third one should be fine.

_**He watched his opponent across the mat, sizing the boy up. His first Junior Judo tournament, and his heart was beating fast with excitement and nervousness, his palms sweaty. He bent his knees slightly, letting his weight rest on the front of his feet. Ready. Even though his head was turned, he could feel his father's glare boring into him like a pair of lasers from the side of the room where the parents were seated.** _

_'Ain't it always the way, Pops? Alright then, here we go!'_

The lead Splicer was on him, suddenly breaking up and away. Raizo stretched out one of Nobu Lightning's main arms upward towards it as if he were caught off guard and overextending-

_'Feed em an opening, show em a flaw in your stance they think they can exploit...'_

The second Splicer broke left, but Raizo's eyes were fixed firmly on the third and its manuvering jets-

_'Wait till they try to take advantage...'_

The third Splicer broke downwards, as he'd expected, trying to take advantage of his 'overextension-'

_'AND THEN PUNISH EM FOR IT!'_

Raizo engaged the hard light generator on Nobu Lightning's extended hand at the same time he brought the limb down and forwards. It wasn't as powerful as its leg thrusters, but the boost was enough to swing the Valvrave around, its arms coming into line with the third Splicer.

He clamped Nobu Lightning's hand onto the Splicer's tail fin, yanking it back towards him, and then he was clutching at it with all his arms, fighting to stop the spin as the Splicer fired all its manuvering thrusters in an attempt to break free. He'd have to hold it still so Rainbow could do her thing.

This close up, he could clearly see the Splicer's pilot beneath the ship's semi-transparent canopy. The guy was-

"What the?"

The pilot's eyes were closed, and instead of punching at his controls in a frenzy like the firing of the Splicer's thrusters suggested, his arms were down by his sides, not moving at all.

_'The fuck is this? Is he controlling the ship with his mind or something?'_

"OoooooooaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The scream erupting from his speakers took his attention off the Splicer's pilot, and Raizo blinked as Rainbow slammed Little Witch's pick-like weapon into the captured Splicer's belly. He found himself grinning in surprise at the ferocity of it. Who knew the quiet girl had such a loud battle shout in her?

As the glowing green lines spread over the Splicer's hull, Raizo keyed his comm, figuring Rainbow needed all the encouragement she could get. "Attagirl!"

"Th-thanks. You-you too."

* * *

"Intrusion in Splicer #24! Hacking in progress... we have lost control of the unit." The T.O. reported.

Kichuksana shrugged mentally. It was bound to happen eventually, although he would have liked to waste more of the Valvraves' time. He'd understood what the Valvraves were trying to do the moment they deployed into their positions around the breach and had pretended to play along, although he'd anticipated at least a few passes before they managed to successfully hack a Splicer. In any event it was preferable for him if the Valvraves tried to hack; they lost units more slowly this way than they would have if the Valvraves just kept shooting the Splicers down.

_'Even a successful hack doesn't earn them any points.'_

"Transmit the self-destruct code for Splicer #24," he commanded.

* * *

The first thing Akira did was to lock out the Splicer's cockpit controls.

That done, she moved onto the software that ran the ship's computer, looking for a communications module. But something else popped up in her search that struck as singularly odd. There was some kind of virtual GUI in the system, and when she took a quick look at it, it turned out to be an entire digital control system for the Splicer, with an oddly familiar graphical style. Where had she seen something like that before?

_'Why would they even have that? In case the physical controls got damaged or something?'_

Well, whatever. She locked out the virtual controls and went on looking for the communications module. There it was! She accessed it, then sat there, feeling a little dumb.

 _'Okay, I'm in. Now what? Do I send a transmission or something and it'll tell me where it went?'_ She swept her hand through her hair in annoyance. _'Agh, this was a stupid plan!'_

Akira was about to ask the others what she was supposed to do now, when the Splicer suddenly exploded in Nobu Lightning's arms.

"AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" Thunder screamed as his Valvrave was engulfed by purple flames.

"Thunder!" She cried out in concern.

"Raizo! You okay?"

"What happened?"

"No problems here! Just surprised..." As the explosion cleared, Akira could see Nobu Lightning flexing its arms, the globs of sealant which had clung to it like barnacles melted by the blast. "Hey, I can move again! I-hang on, why'd it blow up? Did one of those assholes shoot it?"

"I didn't see any enemy fire..." Rukino-san said. "It just blew up on its own..."

"What happened, Akira-chan?" Kyuma asked. "Some kind of anti-hacking system?"

Had she triggered some kind of security program? There hadn't been any indication of that. And besides, a security system that responded to intrusions by blowing up the Splicer? Overreacting much?

Had the pilot triggered a self-destruct? Maybe. But without ejecting first? That didn't make much sense either.

"Not... not security," Akira said, trying to figure out the possibilities. "But m-maybe... a self-destruct... on remote!"

The possibility aroused her hacker's instincts. People often perceived hackers as malicious, stealing personal information in order to commit identity fraud, or to inflict harm on others just for the lulz, and sure, there were people who did that. But Akira had never been into that kind of thing. She was into hacking for the challenge. For the satisfaction of pitting her mind and skills against a security system or an encryption and coming out on top. Of course she made her mark in systems she broke into, leaving behind cybergraffiti proclaiming that she'd been there, and hey, she had to take a look around while inside those systems, and if there was sensitive information that she happened to see, well, to the victor go the spoils, right? But it wasn't like she ever really _hurt_ anyone.

One thing she'd learned over her years of illicit activities was that often you could tell where the sensitive information on a system by checking where the security was heaviest. Ironically, the robust protocols that were supposed to keep that information safe often just made it a more tempting target for Akira and her kind.

_'And is this the mother lode of heavy security or what? Blow up without even allowing the pilot to eject if hacked? What kind of juicy secrets are you hiding in there?'_

* * *

The yellow globes came rocketing down the corridor towards them, nowhere near the speed of a bullet but fast enough. Far faster than he could run in a straight line, at least.

Mikhail dodged away from the orbs, hoping they couldn't turn to track him. He had no idea what they would do if they hit him, but if they were anything like a Valvrave's weapons, as the visual similarity suggested, he didn't want to go anywhere near one.

The orbs flew past him and A-Drei, smashing against the T-junction at the far end of the corridor and exploding in a shower of golden sparks, leaving blackened craters in the wall.

 _'Works like an impact fuse, then? Explosive yield: significantly less than a standard issue hand grenade. But still enough to take off a limb. Explosion radius: about two-thirds of a meter.'_ Mikahil was already filing away details of the attack, trying to quantify this new weapon so he could devise countermeasures to it. _'Careful, though. He might have different variations on that ability which may be visually indistinguishable...'_

In any event, the best response to a novel enemy weapon was to regroup. He jerked his head at A-Drei, and they both began to retreat, keeping their eyes on the... whatever-he-was behind the crystal wall. Mikhail ejected the magazine from his gun and slapped in a fresh one, aware that A-Drei was doing the same thing. They'd been so rattled by the saboteur's magic powers that they'd both emptied their weapons at the same time. Sloppy.

_'Keep it together, Mikhail. This can't be magic. Just sufficiently advanced technology, like the Kamitsuki. This isn't anything like those stories Papa told you. If you let this spook you, you're dead. Keep it together, for Liselotte!'_

Why was he thinking of those bygone days now, of his Papa's large strong finger moving across the storybook page, tracing the words as he read aloud those tales of witches and sorcerers? The memory was so strong he could even hear the faint shhshh of his father's callouses sliding across the paper... Had all his hard-won mental discipline amounted to nothing?

The magic man... Mikhail found he had trouble thinking of him as just a 'hostile,' was just standing there unmoving, not offering any further aggression. But the same golden light blossoming from his barrier suddenly appeared behind them, and Mikhail took a glance back to see another crystal wall forming at the end of the hallway. They were trapped.

"How 'bout no?" The magic man offered. "You're not going anywhere, mates." Another six golden orbs appeared in front of him, growing slowly.

_'If that's how it's going to be, then-'_

Mikhail aimed at the growing orbs in quick succession and fired, hoping his theory about the things working like impact fuses was correct. And it was-the orbs exploded violently, bathing the barrier in front of the man with sparks. But unlike the metal walls of the Module, the crystalline wall seemed completely unharmed.

_'Immune to his own powers? Would have been asking too much...'_

The math was in his favor, at least until he ran out of ammo. There had only been six orbs in the first salvo as well, and with twelve bullets to a magazine, he and A-Drei could keep their enemy from attacking. But more important than the math was the look on the magic man's face as the explosions cleared.

The man looked surprised. Shocked, even. Mikhail felt his spirits rally at the sight of the man's face.

_'He didn't know I could do that. Wasn't expecting it. He's not as in control of the situation as he thought he was.'_

"Nice shooting," the man breathed, slowly raising a hand and pointing his index finger towards Mikhail and A-Drei like a gun. "How 'bout this?"

More spots of light winked to life around the man. But instead of six, this time there were dozens, each the size of a pea. They hung in the air, glittering like stars for a moment before they shot down the hallway towards them.

No way to dodge. No way to run. Mikhail flung his arms in front of his face a moment before the tiny orbs hit, hunching down to minimize his surface area. The front of his body exploded with searing pain, and something found its way past his arms to strike his chin, but his upper face was protected well enough from the blasts-

-And then the attack was over, leaving his body screaming in agony. He straightened up, quickly checking himself over. The Sakimori school uniform was burnt and hanging from his body in tatters, and his flesh underneath was pocked with blackened burns, each no larger than a ping-pong ball. As he moved the seared skin cracked and split, and he could feel the blood leaking down his torso in tiny rivulets. Next to him, A-Drei was in a similar condition. But the pain he could handle, and the wounds seemed comparatively shallow; only his skin seemed burnt, the muscle underneath seemed fine, and his movement was unimpeded-as long as he didn't mind ripping open the burned patches of skin when he moved.

_'But how many more attacks like that can we take? We have no defense against that sort of thing. Is he just toying with us?'_

"Now now," the magic man said placatingly. "You don't wanna die like that, do ya? Getting pecked apart a little at a time? Com'on, just hold still and let me kill ya. I promise I'll make it quick."

_'There might not be a solution to this. But even if we can't get out of this alive, we can at least buy Kibukawa Takumi time to fix the Module's systems... The more time we can waste here, the better!'_

"Professionalism: Grade E." Mikhail gritted out.

"What's that?" The man cocked a brow at them.

"It's unprofessional to taunt your enemies," A-Drei put in, catching on to the plan. "A good soldier either kills his foes quickly, or avoids them to accomplish his objective. Either way, he doesn't chitchat."

"Fine by me, mates." the man said. "You want slow? We'll do it slow." He began to walk toward them, the barrier shifting with his motion, grinding towards them menacingly. Another group of orbs winked to life, this time of intermediate size between the last two volleys, numbering just over a dozen.

Mikhail emptied the remaining bullets from his gun, shattering a few of the orbs, then dodged the remainder as best he could as they flew at him. One of them exploded against the wall near him, showering his back with stinging sparks. A-Drei was firing at the wall behind them, but that one proved to be as resilient as the wall protecting their tormenter, the holes sealing back up quickly after they appeared.

The walls here were different than the bubble that had appeared around Cain in the hanger bay, he realized. Cain's bubble had been a perfect sphere made of translucent light. This wall was made of crystals, and seemed to be more similar in properties to VVV II's hard light limbs; it could be damaged by attacks, and had to be repaired with new crystals when damaged. The problem was that he and A-Drei simply couldn't damage it fast enough. He wondered idly how a larger caliber weapon would do.

There didn't seem to be a new volley of explosive orbs forming, although the magic man was still advancing towards them, the distance between the two walls narrowing quickly. Mikhail fired at the wall protecting him, stitching a line of craters across its surface. That had about as much effect as his first attack. But as the saboteur walked on without preparing a new attack, Mikhail realized he'd learned something useful.

_'Whenever we damage one of the walls, there's no new attack until after the walls are finished repairing themselves. Looks like he can only expend energy or effort on one task at a time. There's limits to what he can do with his powers... so there might be some way we can win. I just need to find those limits and exploit them!'_

The most obvious plan of attack would be to go on the offensive. Keep hammering the walls and prevent the enemy from attacking... but even using an entire magazine didn't get through the barrier earlier, and he was down to only two extra magazines. A-Drei was probably similarly depleted. So the offensive plan was out.

Another spray of explosive orbs, the small ones this time. Mikhail turned his back on the volley and tucked into a ball, groaning as he absorbed the punishment. As he turned, he was disturbed by how close their enemy had gotten. There couldn't have been more than ten meters now between the two hard light walls. But even as the magic man took another step towards them, he saw his opening.

The walls of the hallway weren't perfectly smooth. Like halls anywhere in the Module, it was studded with seams between individual segments of plating, and here and there an airlock door. As the magic man passed one of the seams, new crystals appeared to fill in the gap so the hard light barrier was flush with the wall-and those same crystals crunched and fell away a moment later as the barrier passed the seam. More importantly, a few feet away from the man, there was an emergency airlock door, its edges protruding a good foot into the corridor on either side, even while open.

_'It looks like there's a delay when the barrier expands to fill in the available space. Then if my theory about him only being able to perform one task at a time is correct...'_

He was only going to get one chance. Mikhail turned and whispered to A-Drei, "on my mark, hit the barrier behind us."

A-Drei nodded, and Mikhail focused his attention on the advancing saboteur. He was almost at the airlock door now. three feet away... two feet... one... he was there! As the man passed the airlock door, a foot-wide slab of crystal fell away from either side of his barrier to accomodate the narrowing passageway.

"Now!" Mikhail yelled, taking aim and doing a quick mental calculation of the physics involved. It was already closing, but as A-Drei opened fire on the barrier behind them, new crystals stopped forming at the edges of the barrier in front, leaving an eight-inch gap as the man continued to advance. Mikhail emptied his entire clip into the gap and the wall behind it. He didn't have a direct line of fire on the man, but if he had the angle right, the ricochets...

...And from the way the man grunted, half-falling against the wall and grabbing at his thigh, at least one of the ricochets had hit their mark. Mikhail gritted his teeth; he'd been hoping for a torso shot, at least. There was no way of knowing how much force the ricochet had taken off the shot, so it could be a flesh wound, or just a glancing-

-no, a stain was spreading down the leg of the man's work pants, dark red in the yellow light, but from the speed of its flow, Mikhail could tell he'd hit an artery. He reloaded quickly, even though the gap between the barrier and the wall had long since closed.

"You shot me!" The man said in obvious surprise.

And then again, with rage filling his voice, "you shot me!" He flung one bloodstained hand towards Mikhail and A-Drei. "DIE!"

The orb that appeared before them this time was unlike any of the others he'd previously seen. It was growing rapidly, already the size of a basketball, and it burned like a miniature sun, so bright it hurt to look at.

"A-drei! Behind us!" Mikhail yelled. If the size was any indication, there was no way they could survive this attack, even if he shot the orb to detonate it prematurely. But if the saboteur couldn't repair his barriers while charging an attack, then maybe they could still get out in time. He bent to grab part of a nearby chair that had been sitting in the hall. A-Drei was already firing into the barrier behind them, systematically weakening it with a series of shots along its surface. Mikhail slammed the chair into it, the burned skin of his back screaming in pain. But it was worth it as he saw the crystalline structure shift under the impact, bits of topaz breaking off. He smashed the chair into it again, and again, and even as the chair disintegrated in his hands with the final strike, the barrier crunched and shattered, a hole barely large enough to fit a man opening in its surface.

"Go!" A-Drei shouted, waving him through the hole, and Mikhail went, not minding the jagged crystals lining the gap as they gouged furrows into his flesh. A-Drei followed him through a moment after. The golden light streaming through the gap was as bright as sunlight now, and as they turned the corner of the T-junction, a massive explosion struck them with a wave of heat and pressure, picking Mikhail up and smashing him hard into the wall.

He lay there for a moment, stunned and seeing stars, before being able to force himself upright. The skin on his back felt like it'd been charbroiled, and his left ankle protested as he tried to put his weight on it, threatening to spill him back to the floor. He forced it to steadiness, wavering on his feet and peering with light-dazed eyes back down the tunnel.

The floor, walls, and ceiling of the hallway had been melted into blackened slag. A hole had been burned into one of the walls, and by the looks of it it led into another part of the power station...

...and the saboteur was gone.

Mikhail took a deep breath, relaxing a little now that the immediate threat was over. He looked around and spotted the crumpled form of A-Drei, lying against the wall where he'd fallen.

He wasn't moving.

Mikhail cursed and knelt by his comrade, checking his vitals. The pulse beat strongly in A-Drei's neck, and he breathed a sign of relief. The clothes had been burned from A-Drei's back, and the flesh there was a mess of blackened, bloody patches surrounded by angry red skin that was already starting to weep clear fluid. Mikhail suspected that his back looked much the same. But the worst damage had been done to A-Drei's right leg.

A-Drei had been slightly behind Mikhail when the explosion went off, and his leg must have been within the detonation radius. When Mikhail gingerly touched it, the scorched remnants of A-Drei's boot fell away, revealing a charred and burnt foot that had Mikhail gritting his teeth. With the magic man and his hard light gone, though, it was now too dark to make anything more than a cursory examination... but it didn't look good.

A-Drei sucked in a sudden breath and tried to sit up. Quickly, Mikhail pushed him back down.

"L-Elf?" A-Drei looked around. "The hostile?"

"Gone." Mikhail checked his gun. It seemed fine. "I'm going after him. You stay here."

A-Drei shook his head. "I'm coming wi-sSSSSSSss!" The words quickly turned into a hiss of pain as he tried to move his leg. "Alright, guess I'm not. Here..." He pulled his remaining spare magazine from his pocket. "Take my ammo."

Mikhail accepted the magazine and shoved it into his own pocket. Standing up, he moved into the hallway once again. The slagged floor was still hot, and he picked his way over it gingerly, mindful of his aching ankle and grateful that Sakimori academy shoes had thick soles. He made his way to the hole melted into the wall and peeked in.

As he'd suspected, the hole was deep enough that it led out into another hall. But the wall opposite the hole wasn't nearly as badly melted, suggesting that the epicenter of the exposion had not been in the middle of the hallway. Which led to the conclusion that the magic man had made the hole on purpose.

_'So despite his words, his objective at the end was to escape, not kill us. Does he have some other fallback plan elsewhere in the power station?'_

He looked down. There, on the floor of the hallway on the other side of the hole, glistening black in the dim blue light of his headlamp, was a trail of blood.

Chapter 8 End


	9. Chapter 9 - Blackout Part 3

Shoko peeked out of the glass panel in the side of the zeppelin's gas chamber, hoping against hope that she'd see Midori-chan's figure rushing towards them across the darkened storage room. No such luck. All around her, the students were huddled in little groups, some quietly whispering, others leaning against the struts that supported the hollow metal shell.

_'So this is what it's like, having to decide who lives and who dies...'_

She hated it. Just the thought of Midori-chan out there somewhere in the cold blackness, slowly asphyxiating... and it was her fault. She felt like she was going to throw up just considering it.

But there really hadn't been a choice, even if... They'd been lucky enough that Sakamoto-kun's father was a member of the festival planning committee, and Sakamoto-kun knew where the zeppelin was stored. Also lucky that when the zeppelin wasn't in use, the helium was drained out of the gas chamber and replaced with normal atmosphere. But they'd reached the zeppelin with very little time to spare; it had already become noticeably harder to breathe. And even now all they could do was hope the Module's power crisis could be resolved before they ran out of breatheable air within the gas chamber.

They'd left a note back in the gymnasium saying where they were going, in case Midori-chan found her way there. But by the look of things, that hadn't happened. Either that or she'd collapsed on the way from oxygen deprivation.

_'Is this the kind of thing you had to deal with, Dad? How could you handle it, after?'_

"Prime Minister?" Someone said softly from behind her.

"Ah!" Shoko startled, and turned around to see a grim-faced Nanami-sensei. "Sensei? What is it?"

"Thinking about Akaishi-san?" Nanami-sensei gave her hand a squeeze.

"Yeah." Shoko nodded. "I just keep hoping she'll show up out there... but... it's not gonna happen, is it? It was already pretty bad when we got in. Can't be much air left out there now."

"Maybe she ran into Kibukawa-sensei," Nanami-sensei said. "And she's... safe with him, wherever he is now..." Abruptly she turned away, putting a hand to her face.

"Nanami-sensei?"

"Sorry, Sashinami-san..." Nanami-sensei wiped her eyes quickly with the back of her hand. "I came over to try and shore you up, but look at me... and I'm supposed to be the adult here..."

Shoko squeezed Nanami-sensei's hand. "I'm sure Sensei is safe with L-Elf... And... it helps, Nanami-sensei. Thank you."

The two stood together at the window in silence, keeping their vigil on the darkness outside of the zeppelin.

* * *

The trail of blood led deeper into the power station, down into its dark machinery-filled bowels.

Mikhail's injured back was stiffening up on him as his combat high wore off, and the throbbing in his ankle was growing more pronounced with every step he took. He limped along, gun at the ready, keeping most of his weight on his good leg.

_'Nowhere near top condition... can I take him when I find him?'_

He wasn't sure. But judging by the amount of blood his opponent was losing, the magic man wasn't in top form either. And someone with those abilities was too much of an asset to his enemies to just let go. It would be best to take advantage of the current opportunity to eliminate him.

_'But would removing him at this stage accomplish anything? Are individuals like Cain and this man a significant investment by the enemy, whoever they are? Or do they represent a post-experimental mass application of hard light technology?'_

There was no doubt in Mikhail's mind now that Cain and the magic man were related to JIOR's own VVV project and the Kamitsuki. But it was hard to say what organization had created them, and how much of an investment they had been. The fact that the Kamitsuki were of such a young age suggested that the process which created them couldn't be applied to adults. Mikhail suspected that the Kamitsuki transformational process had to be started early on, in early childhood, at the very least. Otherwise JIORan leaders would have transformed themselves or key members of their military.

The variation in abilities between Cain and the magic man was a strong piece of evidence that the enemy's equivalent of the VVV project was in an experimental phase: mass production of weapons tended towards uniformity. But on the other hand, it would be dangerous to make that assumption without any real knowledge of how the process worked. For all Mikhail knew, the different abilities were a result of individual preference or skill, like how Karlstein produced graduates who favored different fighting techniques. And then too, the older age of Cain and the magic man meant that either the enemy project had been started decades before JIOR's VVV project, or that the enemy's transformational procedure could be used on adults. And that was a disquieting thought.

_'Now I'm just speculating. This is getting me nowhere. Focus on the task at hand!'_

The blood trail he was following suddenly became confused. Instead of the shoeprints and drops and dribbles, there were suddenly enormous streaks and smears, covering half the width of the hallway. Encouraging. Had the magic man collapsed from blood loss and was now dragging himself along? He couldn't be much further away now.

Mikhail turned the corner.

There in front of him lay the magic man at the end of the blood trail, sitting slumped against the side of the corridor. His long legs were flung out akimbo, and his hands lay limply at his sides, palms turned up, the fingers slack and unmoving. His head was tilted to one side, mouth open, dead eyes gazing blindly toward the far wall.

And above the motionless body, as if responding to Mikhail's proximity, a floating melon-sized ball of light kindled from a dull amber glow into blazing golden radiance.

Mikhail threw himself back. The beam from his headlamp had prevented him from seeing the orb's dull glow until he'd turn the corner. Even in death, his opponent had laid his trap well, using the corner to block Mikhail's line of sight until it was too late. But now the same corner would work to his advantage, Mikhail hoped, by weakening the force of the coming explosion enough-

-for the second time that day he was flung through the air, enveloped in searing heat. He twisted as he flew-

_'Not the ankle, not the ankle!'_

-and managed to land on his right shoulder. There was a sharp pain as the shoulder dislocated, and his gun went flying from numb fingers to clatter to the floor. He rolled awkwardly and came back up a crouch, quickly reaching up with his left hand to push his arm back into its socket. His tattered shirt was on fire, and he tore it off and flung it aside, then snapped the knife out of his forearm holster into his hand, not sure where his gun had gone.

There was no attack. The hallway was silent but for a faint popping as the superheated floor and walls of the corridor began to cool and settle.

Mikhail crouched with his knife at the ready for a few more moments, then lowered it. He located his gun, checked to make sure it was working properly, and then gingerly peered around the melted corner.

The magic man's corpse had been nearly obliterated. The only things L-Elf could make out were a partial ribcage and a few blackened bones, melted and fused into the slag of the floor.

_'Did he set that trap to destroy his own body so we couldn't recover any evidence?'_

Mikhail turned and started to limp back towards where he'd left A-Drei, in too much pain and too exhausted to feel any sense of triumph. The magic man had been a civilian, of that much he was sure. And yet with his powers he'd been able to fight two Karlstein graduates to nearly a draw.

_'If a civilian could do that to us... when the time comes, how will we handle Cain?'_

* * *

"On remote? You mean that cloaked ship or whatever, they blew up the Splicer and the pilot rather than let us have it? That's insane!" Haruto sounded shocked.

Akira didn't have time for him. She was busy pulling up the schematics for Z-type Splicers on her console. The Valvraves had come pre-loaded with detailed information about all sorts of vessels they might have to face in combat. She looked over the blueprints, trying to figure out where an explosive could be located.

_'Could be anywhere... but what was it that the display said at first? About unknown configurations?'_

Did that mean the Splicers were noticeably modified somehow? In that case, if she checked for any differences between the scans Little Witch made at the beginning of the fight with the blueprints on record...

_'There! That little bulge thing on the back!'_

Each of the Splicers was carrying an oval-shaped lump on their backs, lumps which didn't show up on the blueprints.

"The backpacks!"

"The what?" Thunder asked.

"On the Splicers! Those, those are the bombs!"

"I see... And you can disarm them or something?" Rukino-san asked.

"Think so... Gotta hit em!"

"Okay... so we just gotta catch another Splicer," Haruto mused. "But they probably won't fall for the same trick as last time. Anyone have a new plan?"

"Screw planning!" Thunder yelled. "I got a feel for this shit now. Need me to catch another one? You got it!" Nobu Lightning turned and blasted off towards the Splicers, mobile once more now that the self-destructing Splicer had blasted away most of the sealant on his chassis. "Rainbow, you're with me! All we need for this is _guts_!"

"Wait, Thunder, you can't just charge in there!"

"What's that idiot doing?"

Akira stared after Thunder's yellow drive trail in surprise. He was just... charging out there. Not a glance back. No hesitation. And he seemed absolutely sure that she would follow.

Was it his unthinking confidence in her that spurred her into action? Or was it because she was reminded of her own charge to save Shoko-chan? Akira wasn't sure. Either way, she found herself pushing forward on her joysticks, sending Little Witch chasing after Nobu Lightning as best as she could with her jammed leg joints.

_'This is probably stupid, but can't just have all the clean things...'_

To her surprise, now that she wasn't focused on it as much, her control over Little Witch was better, the stiff leg movements easier to compensate for. Ahead of her, the Splicers were scattering away from Nobu Lightning, a few of them taking potshots with their sealant cannons as they passed. Nobu Lightning was hot on the trail of one particular Splicer though, and no matter how much the fleeing vessel swerved and turned, it couldn't get away from the yellow Valvrave.

"Come on, ya bastard... I gotcha..." Akira heard Thunder muttering over the comm. "Rainbow! Gonna swing him around to ya! You got my back?"

"Coming!" She yelled, pushing harder to catch up with Nobu Lightning. Some of the Splicers were shooting at her now, and she pulled the Hummingbird from its holster, determined that she wouldn't get clubhands like VVV I and end up unable to wield her weapon. Up ahead, Nobu Lightning was almost on top of his target, looking almost like a cheetah running down its prey. The exposed heat sinks on his limbs and cooling fin were glowing red-hot.

_'He's gonna overheat soon! Come on, catch it... Come on!'_

Nobu Lightning latched onto the fleeing Splicer with one arm. He tucked in his limbs, spinning around using the same manuever that he'd pulled earlier to catch the first Splicer, and then flung the fighter towards Little Witch, his glowing yellow headcrest going dim as he overheated a moment later. "CATCH!"

Akira's eyes bulged out in shock. She hadn't been expecting that. She'd been thinking something more along the lines of him holding the Splicer still while she came up and whacked it. But there hadn't been enough time for her to reach Nobu Lightning before he overheated... the Splicer was flying in her general direction, but it wasn't anywhere near a straight trajectory; the craft's manuvering jets were firing wildly, trying to overcome the momentum of the Valvrave's powerful throw.

_'THERE!'_

She unlimbered the claws on Little Witch's left hand and jabbed them at the Splicer as it passed, hooking through one of the Splicer's wings and pulling it in, swinging the Hummingbird at it with her Valvrave's right hand. One tap on the Splicer's hull, and a second tap on the little explosive backpack! The Splicer's wing tore free from her claw a moment later and it started to fly away-

_'But that doesn't matter! You're mine!'_

Akira quickly pulled up the Splicer's systems on her console. As she'd suspected, the lump [i]was[/i] an explosive, and it had its own transmission program running on its own software. She quickly disabled that, and then switched back to the Splicer, locking out its manual and virtual control systems and inputting commands to send it on a course toward the Module.

_'Now let's see what secrets you've got for me!'_

* * *

"We've lost control of Splicer #1!" Reported the T.O.

 _'That one? Different fireworks than we'd planned for al-Afridi... But fireworks nonetheless.'_ Kichuksana nodded. "Transmit the self-destruct."

His order was carried out, and Kichuksana watched the captured Splicer streak across the display, waiting for it to explode. He felt an odd distorted pride at the thought of the occupant's imminent demise. As his host body was the commander for Dorssian forces in the Middle East, he'd had an strange relationship with this human, al-Afridi. On the surface, as the Dorssian commander, he was devoted to the man's capture and execution. But behind the scenes, in Kichuksana's role as Magius, al-Afridi and his organization was... tolerated. Kichuksana could have had al-Afridi taken at any time, as the man's unwilling inclusion in this operation showed, but his organization (infiltrated by Magius, of course) had always been useful as controlled opposition.

 _'Better a united opposition to the Dorssian occupation, with plans we can guide and direct away from Magius interests, rather than a bunch of loose cannons who can strike anywhere at any time,'_ He mused. _'Still... this pride I feel is problematic. Have I become too attached to this host? Perhaps it's time for a change...'_

Splicer #1 was still closing on the Module. Kichuksana frowned. Why wasn't it exploding? He looked down into the T.O.'s station.

"I sent the destruct signal, but..." The T.O answered his unspoken question. "It doesn't seem to be getting through."

"What?" Kichuksana leaned forward in his chair. "A malfuction?"

On the screen, Splicer #1 had reached the Module, the blue Valvrave settling into a defensive position in front of it. The purple unit was retriving the immobile yellow unit, with both of them under heavy Splicer fire, but the red and green Valvraves were awkwardly lumbering out to meet them.

"Not sure..." the T.O.'s fingers flew over her panel. "Could be. Or..." She looked up. "The transmitter's been hacked."

Kichuksana swallowed hard. Losing control of Splicer #1 could not be allowed. Days ago during the Council, Tinaguna had voiced his concerns that they wouldn't be able to launch an attack on the Module without violating the treaty between ARUS and Dorssia, and he had been right. Chamca had figured out a way to circumvent the treaty by using the Afghani separatist movement as a scapegoat, but the Pashto tribesmen they'd abducted were just random Pasuto farmers with no real link to the organizations involved. Al-Afridi was the lynchpin of the plot, and without his corpse being discovered among the battle wreckage, the entire facade of a third party attacking the Module could fall apart.

_'There's no way we can allow him to be taken alive, even if he has no Runes left. It would raise too many questions!'_

"Have the Splicers break off on their attacks on the Valvraves and take out Splicer #1. Under no circumstances can it be captured intact, understood? And get me Dosi on the line again! I want an update of the situation on the Module!"

On the main screen, the Splicers turned away from the Valvraves and streaked toward the Module, beams of blue light lancing towards Splicer #1, but the blue Valvrave spread its shields around the captured vessel, shrugging off the energy weapons and returning fire with its own green Light of Rune. Kichuksana watched, gritting his teeth. The Valvrave's defenses were nearly flawless. Not quite as good as his own, but more than enough to prevent damage to Splicer #1.

"No response from Dosi," the T.O. reported. "Can't establish a connection."

_'Dammit, Dosi! What's going on down there?'_

He was on the edge of his seat, staring at the blue Valvrave on the main screen, trying to figure out a way around its defenses, when it happened. The lights in the side of the Module suddenly winked on, and the enormous gem-like dome atop the structure warmed from dark blue to yellow.

Kichuksana stared for a moment, then settled back into his seat. Clearly, Dosi had failed to handle the intruders in the power station. The JIORans had not been evacuated. The operation had failed. All that was left now was the contingency and trying to salvage whatever they could from the situation. The yellow Valvrave was still overheated, and capturing it its immortal pilot would be a fine prize... But he had to take it carefully. Other than its cloaking device, the Phantom was constructed from commonly available technology, and no match for the Valvraves if it came to a fight.

"Scuttle the remaining Splicers into their designated targets. Plot us a course that'll take us under the blue Valvrave to where its shields don't cover, and then past the yellow unit once the purple unit is distracted. We'll take out Splicer #1 and capture the yellow Valvrave in one manuver!"

* * *

"Second time you're saving my bacon, huh?" Yamada said over the comm.

Akira didn't bother to reply. Dragging Nobu Lightning back towards the Module while under fire was problematic enough as it was! But at least the Splicers weren't shooting at her with actual weapons; just more of the sticky gunk, and she was getting pretty good at handling Little Witch despite that stuff.

Up ahead, the Splicers were hammering at VVV V, trying to get at the Splicer she'd hacked, but the blue Valvrave's shields were handily shrugging off their fire.

Looks like she'd been right to tell Inuzuka to defend the Splicer. She'd suspected that just because she disabled the remote self-destruct, the enemy wouldn't just give up and allow her to win. Shooting down their own though... even though they were going out of their way not to use energy weapons on the Valvraves. What exactly were they trying to protect? Evidence of the cloaked ship, maybe? Or something else entirely?

the Module's dome slowly lit up, and the lights over its surface also turned on.

_'The power's back on! Alright!'_

Something slammed into Little Witch, sending her spinning and knocking loose her hold on Nobu Lightning. Akira screamed as alarms blared into the cockpit, raging purple fire all she could see on her display. As soon as the flames cleared, she got a brief glimpse of a Splicer flying straight at her before the display erupted into chaos again.

_'Kamikaze attack? What the hell? Are they nuts?'_

The Module's power was back on, which meant that the enemy's attack had failed. Were they just suiciding into the Valvraves because they were salty? Or was there something else going on?

Was there something in the Splicers' onboard computers that they had to keep secret? It didn't seem like it. There was no reason why anyone would put sensitive information on a fighter like that. So what else on the Splicers could be so valuable?

_'The pilots themselves! Of course! Whoever these guys are, they don't want to be taken captive!'_

Akira accessed the virtual controls of the captured Splicer, searching for something that could be an eject command, even as she was jostled by repeated explosions. There! An icon that showed the pilot's seat with a flame under it! She slapped at the button on her console, missed because the cockpit was moving so damn much, tried again, and managed to hit it.

The repeated impacts had sent Little Witch flying well away from Nobu Lightning, but by chance, she happened to be looking towards VVV V and the captured Splicer when it happened. The canopy of the Splicer opened, and a tiny white-suited figure launched out on its chair-

-and then space underneath them seemed to ripple and tear open, a blue energy beam appearing from the void and striking the captured Splicer, which blew apart, the explosion hiding the ejecting pilot from Akira's view.

_'Dammit! That invisible ship again!'_

Akira wasn't in any position to do anything about it. The distortion of space where the energy beam had come from vanished, but she had the vague impression that the thing was headed towards her.

 _'Is it just invisible? Or, phasing? Teleporting? What?'_ Akira felt like she was trapped in a sci-fi movie. She pulled the Hummingbird out and held it in front of her with both of Little Witch's hands. _'Where's the attack coming from?'_

To the left! A square hole opened in space, right behind Nobu Lightning, and for a moment Akira was looking into a hanger, at space-suited workers rushing away from the hole-

-weapons fire struck her from nowhere, sending her flying. As Little Witch shuddered and Akira struggled to hang on to her seat, she realized that the invisible ship had to be huge, at least the size of a Dorssian cruiser, and she'd been hit by turrets on its hull _behind_ her.

The open hanger was moving forward, about to engulf Nobu Lightning. She gritted her teeth and tried to fly towards the yellow Valvrave, but was forced to swerve away by another burst of weapons fire.

_'Thunder, hang on! I'll-'_

A streak of scarlet soared in from over her head, and she looked up to see Haruto's VVV I slicing a path along the hull of the invisible ship with its katana, leaving a shimmering, rippling line through space. The red Valvrave angled down just in front of the advancing hanger and plucked Nobu Lightning out of the way.

"Come on, Akira-chan!" Haruto yelled.

"Right!" Akira took off after VVV I, and both Valvraves cleared away from the invisible ship.

"Here, take Yamada back to the Module!" VVV I shoved Nobu Lightning at Little Witch. "I'll take care of... dammit, where'd it go?"

Akira latched Little Witch's hand onto Nobu Lightning's arm, looking around the bubble of her cockpit. There was no sign of the invisible ship anywhere: no hanger, and even the line of shimmering space where VVV I had cut into it was gone.

"I got it!" Rukino-san shouted, and a green disk of light went spinning past them. Akira watched as it curved out into the distance, reaching its maximum distance and starting to loop back.

"I don't got it..." Rukino-san mumbled.

"Careful!" Inuzuka commented as VVV V joined them. "It could be anywhere..."

The Valvraves huddled in a cluster, waiting tensely for another attack to materialize. As the minutes passed and no such attack came, Akira was forced to conclude that their mysterious enemy had abandoned the attack, leaving only the hole in the Module and the wreckage of dozens of destroyed Splicers.

_'That's not all, though. What about that pilot?'_

She glanced around the wreckage... There! A tiny white-suited figure was tumbling slowly through the debris.

* * *

Saki unclasped her helmet and pulled it off, shaking her hair free and taking a grateful breath of Module 77's newly-pressurized air. It smelled rather strongly of ozone, but that was much better than the sweat-scented air from her flight suit she'd been breathing for the past few hours. She unzipped the zipper a little and took a deeper breath. Why did her suit have to be so tight in the chest?

After the invisible ship cleared out, their cell phone signals had come back, and Kibukawa-sensei had filled them in on what transpired in the power station, as well as the steps he was taking to fix things. The Module had been patched into the Lunar atmosphere grid days ago, but the saboteur had shut down the feed into the Module. Kibukawa-sensei had first isolated a section from the main air feed that led to the zeppelin so the students trapped there could refresh their supply of air, and then opened up it up to the rest of the Module while the Valvraves patched the breach. It had taken a few hours, but the Module was fully back up and running.

Saki shook her head in amusement. _'Hiding in a zeppelin... only Shoko...'_

There were all sorts of rumors flying around among the students after the attack, including one that the Dorssian prisoners had escaped and were running amok on the Module. After the repressurization, it seemed, someone had gone down to the prison block, only to find all the cell doors open and all the prisoners missing. There had been a brief panic before the ARUS evacuation people had explained that they'd taken custody of the Dorssian prisoners and removed them from the Module... and now some of the students were up in arms about that, complaining that the Dorssians were JIORan captives. What a mess.

_'Speaking of prisoners... what was up with that Splicer pilot?'_

Kibukawa-sensei had met them in the hanger when they'd come in and taken charge of the still-unconscious prisoner, taking him down to the medical bay. The right arm and left leg of the man's flight suit had been compromised during the destruction of his Splicer. Although his flight suit had kept him alive by automatically sealing and tournaqueting around the damaged points, his left foot had nearly been severed by the explosion, and his right arm from the biceps down was blue and frozen from prolonged exposure to vacuum. He'd probably have to lose both appendages.

Saki sighed. Who the pilot was and why he'd attacked them was a mystery. He was a brown-skinned man in his 40s or 50s with a paunch and a great thicket of black beard (with a few streaks of white). Middle Eastern or Indian by the look of him. Or maybe South American? Saki found it hard to tell. Anyways, the bastard had quite a few questions to answer when he woke up...

There was a faint whine from the zipline as Haruto rode it down from VVV I's cockpit. She waved at him as he took off his helmet, and he waved back.

Haruto wasn't looking so good, his mouth set and grim and his brow furrowed. His blue eyes were full of doubt. "Hey, Saki," he greeted as she approached him.

"Hey." Saki folded her arms around him in an impromptu hug, the material of their flight suits squeaking. He squeezed her tightly and she squeezed back, slightly annoyed that his body heat didn't transfer through the suit. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Haruto pulled away a little, smiling at her, although Saki could tell it was forced. "I'm just a little tired. But I'm glad we won!"

_'Sorry, Haruto, but I know you better than that by now.'_

"Haruto..." Saki took hold of Haruto's shoulders and pushed him out at arms length, staring sternly into his eyes. "Don't give me that. Things got better for us after we talked, right? So just... talk to me. Don't lock me out, okay?"

"Sorry," Haruto muttered. "It's just that... I thought we were safe, you know? On the moon, I mean. Like, I thought maybe we'd put the fighting behind us, and everyone would be... but then this happens!" He flung an arm out towards a piece of wreckage they'd brought back with them to show L-Elf. The piece of metal was emblazoned with the strange logo on all the Splicers: a black rectangle filled with ornate white text. "Who are these guys? That pilot doesn't _look_ like a Dorssian. So why'd they attack us? What the hell do they want from us?"

Saki nodded. "Yeah... I feel the same way." She let her arms drop, then cocked her head to one side, summoning up a smile. "But you're right, we did win. Now we just have to let L-Elf do his thing and maybe he'll get some answers out of the guy." She held up a clenched fist. "I hope L-Elf works him over good!"

"Work him over? Ugh! You mean torture? You think L-Elf will do that?"

"Well, yeah? He's a secret agent, right? In the movies, that's sorta what they-" Catching the slightly green shade of Haruto's face, Saki cut herself off. "Uhm, don't mind me!"

"No, no..." Haruto shook his head. "That's the kind of world we live in now, right? Maybe L-Elf is right, and I _am_ too sweet. I need to-whoa! Saki, look!"

Saki turned towards where Haruto was staring. There, huddling half-hidden behind one of Little Witch's legs, was a short pink-haired girl in a rumpled grey hoodie.

_'Akira-chan?'_

* * *

Haruto couldn't help gawking at the tiny girl. He hadn't expected her to come out of her Valvrave so suddenly like this. And she looked so timid and helpless!

_'I should try and make her feel welcome.'_

Haruto started toward Little Witch, waving at Akira-chan. "Akira-chan? It's good to meet you! I'm Tokishima Haruto!"

Instead of responding, however, Akira-chan shrank back even more until only one eye was visible peeping around Little Witch's leg.

_'Looks like I scared her. How does one greet a hikki, anyway? Should I-'_

"Uwaaah!" Haruto yelped as one of Saki's arms slid across his chest from behind, while the other gave him a none-too-gentle dig in the ribs, and she started to pull him back and away.

"Up-up-up-up-up... let's give her some space, okay?" Saki mumbled into his ear.

"R-right..."

Seeing him get pulled away, Akira-chan edged back around Little Witch's leg a little. Saki released Haruto and waved at her, smiling broadly. "Nice to see you again, Akira-chan!"

Haruto was surprised when Akira-chan smiled back tremulously. "Wait, 'again?' You've met her before?"

"Mmm-hmm. Not telling you when though! It's a girls' secret~"

"Hello, Akira-chan!" Inuzuka-senpai greeted Akira-chan, taking a cue from Haruto and Saki and staying well away from Little Witch. "I'm Inuzuka Kyuuma."

"Yo, Rainbow! What's up?" Yamada said casually.

Akira-chan gave a tiny nod to Inuzuka-senpai, then awkwardly raised her hand and waved at Yamada. "S-sup?" She managed.

There was an brief silence as the four pilots stared at Akira-chan, and then Akira-chan abruptly turned, rode up the zipline behind her, and disappeared into Little Witch's cockpit. Haruto stared at the purple Valvrave in confusion.

_'I guess she doesn't want to talk to us anymore?'_

* * *

Akira hunkered down into Little Witch's seat, her legs tucked up under her sweatshirt and her hands around her knees, immensely frustrated.

_'That was it? "Sup?" Really?'_

She'd thought with all the talking she'd been doing during the battle, she might be able to get out there and have some kind of interaction with her fellow pilots. But nope! She'd found herself as tongue-tied as ever, unable to step away from the comforting shadow of Little Witch.

"Hey, Rainbow!" Thunder's voice sounded over the speakers, and she looked down to see him standing at Little Witch's feet. "Glad to meetcha! Good to finally put a face to the voice!"

Akira eyed him. She wasn't quite feeling up to holding a verbal conversation with the guy. But then again, now that the phones were back...

"But man! Did I have the wrong idea about what ya looked like!" Thunder went on.

Akira picked up her phone and dial Thunder's number, quickly tapping in a text message.

 **RAINBOW:** What do you mean by that?

Thunder pulled out his phone to read her message. "I thought you'd look more like your brother. Y'know, tall, blonde hair..."

 _'Oh, so I don't meet his expectations?'_ Akira gritted her teeth. It was always about Satomi!

 **RAINBOW:** Well, I'm sorry I don't measure up to my brother. My growth was stunted by poor dietary choices and my hair color takes after my dad.

"'Measure up?' To Renbokoji?" Thunder laughed. "Nah, babe! More like he doesn't measure up to you! That was one hell of a catch you made out there! I don't see your brother pulling that kinda shit! Yer one cool chick, you know that?"

Akira blinked. Looks like she'd misunderstood.

 **RAINBOW:** Sorry, got a little defensive there. Thanks.

"No prob! Dig the hair too! How long you been growin' it out for?"

_'My hair...'_

Akira shuddered. She could almost feel the weight of the scissors again, the phantom hardness of the blade pressing against her skull. The girls were laughing while she sat trembling, terrified that at any moment a missnip would slice through her scalp or her ears...

She steeled herself and went back to texting.

 **RAINBOW:** Since middle school.

"Nice. Comes down to your back now? Betcha could pull of all kinds of sweet 'dos."

 **RAINBOW:** Weirdo. You don't seem like the kind of guy who'd be interested in hairstyles.

In response, Thunder inclined his head and pointed to his orange hair with a florish. "Hey, you know how many years it took me to perfect this 'do? Pretty stylin', ain't it? It represents a man's burning spirit!" He pumped his fist in the air. "ORRRAAA!"

Akira couldn't help but giggle.

_'He's so over the top... But talking to him just feels... good.'_

She thought it over for a moment, and then slowly typed in a new text.

 **RAINBOW:** Could I ask you a favor?

"Sure, what is it?"

 **RAINBOW:** Call me Akira.

"Eh? But Rainbow's a good name for ya!" Thunder said.

 **RAINBOW:** Really.

"Gotcha, gotcha. But man, you're missing out! The great Thunder doesn't call just anyone by their nickname, ya know!" Thunder hesitated. "So, uhm, you want I should say Akira-chan? Or maybe Akira-san?"

Akira thought about it a moment. All the other pilots seemed to have settled on Akira-chan. But she felt like she wanted Thunder to call her something else.

 **RAINBOW:** Just Akira is fine.

"Akira," Thunder said. For some reason, hearing him say her name in his rough voice made her smile. As if he could see her smile, he grinned up at Little Witch. "But that don't mean you get to call me Raizo or Yamada or anything like that, y'hear? I'm still Thunder, Top Dog of Sakimori High to ya! I got an image to keep up!"

* * *

Shoko examined a potted plant in the corner of her office. The plant was a bright, vivid green... but its leaves were limp and dragged in the dirt, dead from vacuum exposure. Soon it would turn brown, then black. She didn't like to think about it, but the same thing would soon happen to all the plants in the Module... and the view of the lush green school grounds from the windows of her office would soon turn to one of desolation.

"Shoko-chan?" A familiar voice called out.

Shoko's head snapped around. There, in the doorway, stood a girl that she'd never expected to see again. Tears filled her eyes, turning the girl into a smudgy blob topped with lime-green hair.

"Midori-chan?" Shoko rushed forward, crushing the other girl in a tight hug. "Oh my goodness! You're alive! You're okay!"

"Shoko! Uh! Shoko-chan! Can't breathe!" Midori-chan wheezed.

"Ahh! Sorry, sorry!" Shoko dropped her arms and stepped back. "But, you're alive! I thought for sure you'd-!"

"Nope. Not dead." Midori-chan smiled. "But it was pretty touch-and-go there for a while... glad we all got out okay though!"

"Yeah..." Shoko agreed, wiping her eyes. "So you ran into Kibukawa-sensei and L-Elf then?"

"No, I didn't."

"Oh. Uhm, how'd you, you know...?"

"I was down in the machine shops when the power went out," Midori-chan explained. "And I knew right away from the wind after we got hit that there was a breach. The phones weren't working, so I tried to get up to the dome, but I got lost, and I ended up in some kind of storage room. There were some pilot suits there, I think maybe left over from when there were soldiers on the Module. So I got into one of them. It was made for a guy though, way too big, and it was hard to get around..." She trailed off.

"What happened then?" Shoko asked.

"Well, not much." Midori-chan continued. "I mean, I was still lost, so I just kind of wandered around looking for where to go. Dunno how long, really. And then the power came back on and the air came back a little after that. Good thing, too. The suit was almost out of air by the end."

Shoko nodded. "I'm so glad you're safe, Midori-chan! I... I'm really sorry..."

"Sorry? For what?"

"For not trying hard enough to look for you," Shoko said. "I let you down. I mean, if you hadn't gotten lucky like you did..."

"It's no big!" Midori-chan heartily clapped Shoko on the shoulder. "I'm here, right? So no harm, no foul!"

"Unh-huh..." Shoko stared at Midori-chan. How could she be so jovial?

"Anyways, gotta go." Midori-chan turned to head out the door. "I'll see you later, Shoko-chan!"

As the green-haired girl ran off, Shoko rubbed her sore shoulder slowly. Was it just her, or was Midori-chan acting rather strange? She was so quiet usually. A little shy, maybe. And here she was, giving Shoko a friendly thwack on the shoulder. And it was a pretty hard thwack too.

_'It's probably nothing... she's been through a hard day. Maybe that's just how she deals?'_

* * *

When L-Elf entered the hanger pushing a wheelchair, Saki thought at first the man in it was their unidentified prisoner. He had one leg propped up and swathed in bandages, but a quick second glance showed that he was Dorssian, a light purple-haired young man about the same age as the students. She'd seen him before somewhere, she was certain-but all attempts to place his face fled at the sight of L-Elf.

L-Elf was an absolute wreck. He was wearing a blue Sakimori uniform coat, but underneath it his chest was bare and swaddled with bandages. There was a huge wad of gauze stuck to one side of his jaw, and where his skin wasn't covered by bandages it was an angry red, like a bad sunburn. His hair was burnt in places, ragged and uneven, with streaks of black soot mixed into the silver locks. The wheelchair-bound man looked much the same.

_'What could have done that to L-Elf? Yamada and I couldn't even lay a finger on him!'_

"Geez, what'd you run into down there, L-Elf? A bear?" Saki joked, trying to disguise her discomfort as the pilots (minus Akira-chan) joined L-Elf at the table.

"If only it was a bear..." The wheelchair man grumped, looking up. As his burnt and unkempt hair fell away from his face, she was shocked to see his left eye was missing, a jagged scar twisting across his face.

"You... you're!" Haruto breathed, a moment before Saki realized where she'd seen the face before. He was one of the Dorssians who had invaded the Module along with L-Elf!

"A-Drei," the Dorssian said, fixing his remaining eye on Haruto. "I take it you're the one that shot me. Tokishima Haruto, L-Elf's 'right hand,' right?"

Haruto's jaw set. "Yeah. That's me. And... about your eye... I'd do it again, if I had to. You were threatening the Module and everyone's safety."

"That's fair enough," A-Drei said. "I don't hold a grudge, if that's what you're thinking. It's war, after all. These things happen." He smiled suddenly. "Besides, I think I got my payback against you back in the hanger."

"Oh yeah. You did shoot me a few times..."

"Why is he here?" Inuzuka-senpai asked L-Elf.

"A-Drei has joined our side of this war," L-Elf explained.

 _'Uh-huh. That's convenient.'_ Saki eyed A-Drei's battered appearance. _'Then again, he did get hurt pretty bad defending the Module, doing whatever down there...'_

"So what happened to you two?" She asked. "Wouldn't have expected secret agents like you to get so busted up..."

* * *

There was a silence as they all digested L-Elf's words. Or tried to, anyway.

"So..." Haruto said slowly. "Like that Cain guy in the last attack? And Kibukawa told you that he overhead a transmission in the control room where someone called this guy 'Dosi?' Weird name."

"Similar, but not identical," L-Elf said. "Still, the conclusion I came to is their abilities are from the same source. As for 'Dosi,' it could be a code name."

"Great, so there could be a whole buncha these guys running around..." Yamada grumbled.

"But this guy's not from Dorssia, right?" Saki asked. "I mean, that flag on the Splicers, and that prisoner... but you said the saboteur had an accent, maybe Australian? That'd make him JIORan... Are they all working together?"

L-Elf nodded. "I have some theories about that. But first it would be best if I knew everything about the space battle. Please try to recall as many details as you can."

* * *

It took much longer for the pilots to tell their side of the battle than L-Elf had.

For one thing, L-Elf wanted to hear all their perspectives. Even if some of the parts overlapped. And he went over certain points in the battle multiple times when he thought they weren't being detailed enough. And Yamada had to read Akira-chan's perspective out loud as she texted it to him. Still, eventually they got through it.

 _'So this is what a military debriefing is like, huh?'_ Saki stifled a yawn as Inuzuka-senpai told his part. _'No wonder they always skip this in movies...'_

"And like Haruto said," Inuzuka-senpai was finishing up. "That's when we came in, and we brought a piece of the Splicers in to show you the flag." He pointed at the scrap of metal lying on the floor a few feet away.

"Thank you, Inuzuka Kyuuma." L-Elf said. He looked over at the piece of metal, his eyes narrowing.

Saki looked at the insignia as well. It was a black rectangle filled with a tangle of white script she couldn't read. But from L-Elf's reaction... "So, you recognize it? What's it say?"

"Yes, I do." L-Elf returned to his seat. "It's the shahada."

"The what?" Haruto wanted to know.

"The Islamic proclaimation of faith. It says, 'ia ilaha illallah, muhammadun rasulullah.'"

"'Ia iru-a...' What?" Inuzuka-senpai was confused.

"The emblem is a flag commonly used by Liwa al-Salaam, an Afghani separatist movement."

"Speak Japanese!" Yamada growled.

"I'm sorry, sorry. Stop." Saki said. "Look, pretend we don't know anything about the world or what that language is. Can you just take it from the top?"

"Okay. You guys know the Dorssian territory of Afghanistan?" A-Drei asked.

"Yeah... that's in the Middle East, right?" Haruto asked.

"Yes." A-Drei nodded. "Afghanistan's been occupied by Dorssia for going on ten years now. Liwa al-Salaam is a local militia organization that's trying to win their country's independance from Dorssia."

"Wait a minute," Haruto interjected. "If these Liwa people are fighting against Dorssia, that means they're the good guys, right? How come they're attacking us? Shouldn't they be our allies?"

"'The go-'" L-Elf nearly chuckled, and then caught himself. "That sweet nature of yours never changes... I'm afraid the old adage 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' rarely holds up in the real world. In this case, it would _appear_ that Liwa al-Salaam are enemies of both Dorssian and New JIOR. There are all sorts of reasons for them to attack the Module. For instance, after hearing of the Valvraves' success against the Dorssian navy, they may have wished to acquire a Valvrave of their own."

"Great," Inuzuka-senpai muttered. "More thieves. So that's why they were shooting sealant at us instead of trying to shoot us down? What about that prisoner? He's an Afghanistani? Or whatever?"

"He is," L-Elf said. "And his identity is another point of interest. He's not just any Afghani. The man you captured is Abdur Rashid al-Afridi, one of the top three commanders of Liwa al-Salaam. Dorssian Intelligence has been after him for years."

Yamada's phone beeped and he looked down at it. "Akira wants to know if the prisoner woke up yet."

"He has." L-Elf confirmed. "His hand and foot were beyond saving and we used the surgical unit in the medical bay to remove them. Other than that he seems to be in good health."

"Yeah? What'd that bastard have to say for himself?"

"Nothing." L-Elf looked troubled.

"Tough nut, huh?" Yamada pounded a fist into his palm. "I can come rough him up some for ya, if you get my meaning..."

A-Drei and L-Elf exchanged a glance. "I don't think that'll be necessary, Thunder," A-Drei said. "Actually, al-Afridi's claiming to have no memory of the attack. More than that, he's claiming that he has no memory of who he is either... or anything at all, for that matter, from before he woke up in the hospital."

"Are you kidding me?" Saki was incredulous. "The amnesia defense? Seriously?"

The Dorssians exchanged another glance. "We're inclined to believe him," L-Elf said. "This kind of thing isn't usually part of the mujihadeen repertoire. Feigning ignorance, yes. But nothing on this level. And he seems very sincere."

"Head trauma?" Haruto suggested. "From the explosion, maybe? Or oxygen deprivation?"

"Perhaps," L-Elf allowed. "Between the flag and al-Afridi's involvement, it seems like the _obvious_ conclusion would be that this was an attack by Liwa al-Salaam... but judging from the powers of the saboteur, and that invisible ship you encountered, a more reasonable conclusion is a false flag attack."

"Dunno what that is..." Saki mumbled. Haruto, Yamada, and Inuzuka-senpai also looked lost.

Yamada's phone beeped. He picked it up and read, "A false flag attack is a situation in which one party pretends to be another party and attacks a third party, or more rarely, itself. The term dates back from the days of wooden sailing ships, when sometimes ships would run up flags from countries they weren't from and attack other ships so the blame would fall on the country implicated by the false flag."

"Not bad." A-Drei grinned at Little Witch.

"So whaddaya saying here?" Yamada asked, rubbing his head. "Somebody painted a bunch of these flags onto Splicers so we'd think it was the Afghanis? But what about that Aruarufu... Aruafudi... Aru-afureru... fuck it. He's Beardy. Don't Beardy being here prove that it's his gang that attacked us?" He paused for a moment. "Aruafuru. Eruerufu. Weird."

"It does seem that way," L-Elf acknowledged. "But there are a number of factors that don't fit with that conclusion. Abdur Rashid al-Afridi is well-known to Dorssian intelligence. He is a planner and a strategist who prefers to lead from the rear. If he had planned the attack, he should have been commanding from that invisible ship. And yet he was on the front lines, flying a Splicer he shouldn't have known how to fly. And there's that invisible ship itself to consider. If they had access to that kind of technology they'd have liberated Afghanistan from Dorssian control long ago. No, this was not the work of Liwa al-Salaam. And the actual goal was probably not to steal a Valvrave. They were after something else altogether."

"Like what?" Haruto asked.

"You. The Kamitsuki. Or possibly the other students."

A chill went down Saki's back at L-Elf's words, followed by anger.

_'Haven't they taken enough from us? Our homes, our lives, our futures, and now they even want our bodies?'_

"Why do you think they were after the students?" Haruto asked L-Elf.

It was A-Drei who answered, "when we engaged the saboteur... Dosi, he let it slip that he was allowed to kill us on the basis that we were Dorssians and not Sakimori students."

"Wait a minute, I thought they were trying to kill the students by depressurizing the Module?" Saki put in.

"Unless the ARUS evacuation people were in on it too..." Inuzuka-senpai mused. "But that would mean... ARUS, Dorssia, and this Liwa al-Salaam are working together? That doesn't make any sense!"

"The conclusion I'm forced to..." L-Elf said, sounding hesitant and not like his usual assertive self, "is that our enemy is some kind of hidden extranational organization controlling assets within ARUS, Dorssia, Liwa al-Salaam, and JIOR. I admit, it's farfetched, but it's the only theory which makes sense. This organization found out about the VVV project, but did not directly control elements within the JIORan government involved with it. So the organization motivated agents within Dorssia to declare war on JIOR in order to seize the Valvraves for itself. Colonel Cain is probably a member or a tool of this organization, and having acquired a Valvrave through him, they are now seeking a pilot for it... or the means to reverse engineer a Kamitsuki to produce their own." He paused for a moment. "Although I'm not sure why they would need JIORan pilots, since Colonel Cain was clearly capable of piloting it. The powers of Colonel Cain and this Dosi are probably derived from their own research project, similar to the program that produced you Kamitsuki. Perhaps they wished to examine you and compare notes, so to speak?"

"Why attack us with... Beardy and his Liwa al... Afghanis though?" Saki asked. "Why not just keep using Cain and the Dorssian Navy, like they've been doing?"

"...Because the Dorssians have their hands tied by the treaty..." Haruto said slowly. "If the Dorssians attacked Module 77 while we're here on the Moon, that would push ARUS into war with them. And whoever these people are, they might not want Dorssia and ARUS to go to war with each other. A war like that could mean the end of the world."

"Exactly," A-Drei said. "Liwa al-Salaam is an unaffiliated third party, someone they could put the blame on if the attack failed. Only... why would al-Afridi sacrifice himself or his organization like that? I've read the Intelligence dossier on him. He wants Dorssia out of Afghanistan and to establish a theocratic state with himself at its head. This risks everything he's ever fought for. I suppose they could have offered him Afghanistan... but I doubt this organization has _that_ kind of clout within Dorssia."

"What if Beardy didn't have a choice?" Inuzuka-senpai said. "Invisible ship, right? What if they just kidnapped him or something, and drugged him and shoved him in that Splicer? And amnesia... Haruto, you're good with biology, do you know of any, I dunno, chemicals or drugs or something that could cause that?"

"I'm really not sure," Haruto replied. "There's lots of things that can cause memory loss. Hell, alcohol'll do it in the short term. But something that can erase all your memories like that? No idea. My dad might know. He does pharmaceutical research... but he's back in the Homeland, and I don't know how we could get in contact with him..."

Yamada's phone beeped. "Don't forget that the Splicers were wired to explode," he read. "Beardy was never meant to live through the battle. But there's something else you guys should see. Sending you all links now."

Saki checked her phone. True to Akira-chan's words, she had a text message from Rainbow with a link to an ARUS online newspaper article. She opened it and caught her breath at the headline.

"Terrorists attack Module 77. Militant leader killed in space battle," Inuzuka-senpai read, then passed his phone to L-Elf, who didn't seem to have one of his own. "What happened to your phone?"

"Had to give it away," L-Elf said, his thumb moving over the touchscreen as he scrolled the article. "None of you talked to anyone about the battle, did you?"

One by one, the pilots shook their heads. "We didn't even know who this al-Afridi guy was before you told us," Haruto said. "And look, there's his name in the article. There's even a picture!"

"That's our Beardy," Yamada said. "So the... New York Times knows more about what happened here than we do? What the hell does this mean?"

"It means this news release was prepared ahead of time," Saki explained. "It's really not that uncommon, I had this sort of thing happen a few times while I was an idol. It's a good way to guide the narrative and public discussion." She noticed L-Elf and A-Drei muttering together. "Excuse me, boys, would you like to share your conversation with the rest of the class?"

L-Elf seemed annoyed. "We were discussing how the enemy seems to have control over major media centers. Information control is a very powerful weapon that could be used against us." He handed Inuzuka-senpai's phone back to him. "In any case, we do have a card to play. This article reports that al-Afridi is dead. So our enemies may not know that he is, in fact, alive and in our jurisdiction. Perhaps his memory will return and he can tell us something useful."

"So what do we do about this organization?" Haruto wanted to know.

"For now, say and do nothing that contradicts this narrative," L-Elf waved at Haruto's phone. "Whatever's locked away in al-Afridi's head may be the key to this puzzle. A-Drei and I will develop new security protocols. Renbokoji Akira." He looked at Little Witch. "I'll need you to write a new security program for the Module's computer systems so we can't be sabotaged in the future."

"Shouldn't we be going after these guys?" Yamada growled. "Or are we just gonna sit on our asses and wait for em to hit us again?"

"There is no reliable way to attack an enemy we know so little about, Yamada Raizo," L-Elf said. "The only person we know for sure is a member of this group is Colonel Cain, and for the moment, he is beyond our reach. A-Drei and I are currently working on a way to increase the force projection capacity of New JIOR, but that will take some time. A week, at the very least."

Saki raised her hand. "Anything for Haruto or me?"

"Nothing for now."

"Okies then! Me and Haruto are outta here!"

* * *

Haruto sighed as he and Saki entered their room. He'd thought it would get easier once they got to the moon, but things had only gotten more complicated.

_'At least when we were fighting Dorssia we knew who the enemy was. Now we don't even know that much. These guys are after the VVV project? What is the VVV project, anyway? Where did all this hard light stuff come from?'_

Saki ran across the room and plopped onto her bed, sighing and looking up at the ceiling. "Glad that's over with. Despite what L-Elf said, nothing's really changed, y'know?"

"But even L-Elf doesn't know who the enemy is anymore. How are we supposed to fight someone we know nothing about?" Haruto sat down on his own bed across from Saki.

"We didn't really fight Dorssia either," Saki pointed out, sitting up. "Mostly we just waited for them to attack us and drive them off. We'll drive these new guys off just like Dorssia!" She tossed her head and made a fist.

Haruto stared at Saki's hair as she tossed her head, fascinated by the flowing purple locks. But Saki's nose wrinkled as her hair flipped past her face. "Ick," she moaned. "Hate those helmets. I smell like sweat..."

"I don't mind how you smell." To prove it, Haruto leaned forward and took an exaggerated sniff. He had to admit, even sweaty, Saki smelled pretty good.

Saki burst out laughing and pushed him away playfully. "Hahaha! Who knew Haruto would turn out to be one of those weird smell fetishists!" She stuck her tongue out at him. "You're not gonna like, steal my panties and sniff them in the bathroom or something, are you? Cause if you are I might have to call this engagement off..."

Haruto grinned. "Nah, not gonna go that far. Really though, your hair does smell nice."

"Really?" Saki brought a lock of her hair to her nose. "No it doesn't! You're just gross, Haruto!"

"It's a matter of taste, that's all!"

"Ahhh, whatever you say, perverted Haru~to~" Saki ran her hands through her hair and stood up. "I need a shower."

"Okay. I'll take one too after."

Saki paused. "Actually, if you're gonna shower too you should go first. I'll take longer than you."

"I'm okay with you taking longer. You said you were gonna shower first, so you should go first."

"Nope! We're not playing this 'you go first' game. I'm putting my foot down, Haruto! You're showering first and that's final!"

* * *

Haruto sighed happily as he stepped out of the shower into the steam-wreathed bathroom. The hot water felt great on his skin after being cooped up in the flight suit for so long, and as he toweled himself off, he started to think that Saki was right about the whole thing.

_'It's the waiting game again, but we'll win it again, just like we won before. Yeah. With everyone pulling together, and with L-Elf's planning, we'll be sure to get through this one too!'_

He finished drying himself and wrapped the towel around his waist. He examined himself briefly in the mirror, slightly annoyed at how the thick steam in the bathroom was making it difficult to breathe.

_'No point in making Saki wait any longer for her shower. I can do my hair outs-'_

As Haruto started to turn away from the mirror, the sudden crushing tightness in his chest hit him like a hammer, doubling him over, groaning. His hand flew to his chest, fingernails digging into his flesh as he gasped for breath. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a glint of red reflected in the bathroom mirror a moment before a red haze descended over his vision. He couldn't- He-!

* * *

Pino finished his turn away from the mirror, so _hungry_ he could barely stand it. There, behind the door, was what he yearned for. What he needed. To sink deep into yielding flesh, to pour himself into a new host. _To feed..._

_'Saki...'_

Meaningless sound in his head. But it distracted him enough that as he stepped forward, his foot skidded out from under him on the bathroom floor rug. He toppled backwards, his head smashing into the corner of the sink with a loud CRACK!

* * *

And then Haruto was himself again, laying on the bathroom floor, clutching at his head against the blinding pain in his skull. Saki was pounding on the bathroom door.

"Haruto? Are you okay in there? Haruto!"

"I-I'm okay!" Haruto called, his voice shaky. "I slipped and fell, but I'm okay!"

"Oh... thank goodness. I just heard this big thump in there all of a sudden. Geez, be more careful, okay?"

"I will..." The pain was gone. Haruto slowly pulled his hands away from his head, His fingers red with blood. He felt again at his scalp, but the wound had already closed. He picked himself off the floor.

_'Kamitsuki healing powers at work. But what happened? I was... drying myself off... And then I... oh, no.'_

He'd had an attack. After all this time without one. He felt as if a pit had opened in his belly and he was collapsing into himself.

_'No, no, no. Please, no. This can't be happening, I can't be having attacks again. Not after I...'_

Haruto gritted his teeth, his hands trembling as he went to wash off the blood in the sink. There was a spot of red on the sink corner as well, and he shoveled that into the washbasin with his palm, before realizing that there was probably still a bunch of blood in his hair. Grimacing, he stepped back into the shower, his thoughts swirling just like the pink-tinged water spiraling down the drain.

'T _hat was lucky... I must have slipped and fallen, and that knocked me out of the attack. But if I have another attack around Saki, what'll happen? I can't count on her to hit me out of it, and if I, if I...'_

He stepped out of the shower, reaching for the towel and drying himself off mechanically.

_'I might... do that to Saki again. If I'm around her. I can't be around her. Should I call off the engagement? I didn't propose to marry her, just so I could do that again. But no... she wouldn't accept it without an explanation, and there's no way I could explain... No, calling off the engagement isn't an option. But what else? What other excuse can I use to stay away from her?'_

He was as dry as he was gonna get. Wrapping the now-soggy towel around his middle again, he opened the bathroom door. Saki looked up from her phone as he exited. "Looking good, Haruto! My turn?"

"Yeah," Haruto swallowed hard as he crossed the room and started dressing. This wasn't going to be easy. "Saki, listen, uhm, don't wait on me for dinner or anything. I need to go out for a while and I'm not sure when I'll be back."

Saki turned back to face him from the bathroom doorway, confusion written all over her delicate features. "You what? Where are you going?"

Haruto pulled on his pants. "To go see L-Elf. I was thinking, I'm supposed to be the Minister of Defense or something, right? So this whole thing with the saboteur is really my fault. I need to take responsibility for the security of the Module. Step up to the plate, you know..."

"Oh. Okay." Saki looked doubtful. "It's your turn to cook tonight, but I guess I'll take care of it. Uhm, I'll leave you something for when you get back."

"It's okay," Haruto shrugged into his uniform coat and hurried for the door. "I don't think I'll be back tonight. Lots of work to do..."

As the door slid closed behind him, Haruto didn't catch the stricken look on Saki's face.

* * *

The man lay on the hospital cot, listening to the humming machine sounds around him and feeling the emptiness where his hand and foot used to be.

How could he miss something he never remembered having, he wondered. And yet he did. Although his limbs were already gone when he'd awoken, chained to the cot, and although he found just a hollow within him when he reached for memories of how he got there, there was a part of him that ached for their loss.

He licked his cracked lips, trying to moisten them even though his tongue was dry. His mouth was sour, and his head was pounding dully.

"Abdur Rashid al-Afridi," he muttered into the empty air, trying out the words.

It didn't seem familiar at all, his name. Or at least, what he'd been told was his name by the two youths who'd interrogated him. They'd told him other things, as well. That he was the leader of some kind of army, that there had been a battle near some place called Module 77, during which he'd been wounded and captured. A battle he'd been responsible for.

He'd accepted these things at face value. After all, without any memories to draw upon, it felt safer to just accept what he was told, rather than continue to be hollow. He'd taken for proof of their story that the youths were injured as well, covered in burns. One was missing an eye, although the wound looked to be an old one. Another, older man, wearing glasses and a white coat, had tended to the two even as they'd questioned him, applying ointments and dressings to their injuries.

Why? They'd asked him. Why had he attacked their 'Module?' He had no answer for them. At first they'd been rough, and he didn't blame them for it. They were understandably angry after being attacked. But his abject terror and confusion at waking up with no idea of who he was or what was going on seemed to convince them that he was telling the truth.

They'd left him eventually, and now he was alone on the small hospital cot, trying to piece together what he knew and come to some kind of understanding about who he was.

"Abdur. Abdur Rashid. al-Afridi." It still didn't sound right, coming out of his mouth. "That is my name. My name is Abdur," he said in Pashto. And then repeated it in Arabic. It didn't sound right in that tongue, either.

He knew some things, at least. There were things called languages in the world, and people from different places spoke different languages. He himself spoke two, Pashto and Arabic. Of the two, he was more familiar with Pashto. A person who did not speak the same language as another could not understand the words being said. The youths had spoken Arabic to him, but when conferring amongst themselves they had another language, one he knew was called German, but understood only a few words of. The older man in the coat had spoken yet another language, one he was unfamiliar with but the youths clearly knew.

He knew what the parts of his body were, as well as the things around him. He was in a hospital room. The soft surface he was lying on was a cot. The hard white squares that made up the floor were tiles. The pieces of furniture against one wall of the room were chairs. The picture above them which showed a diagram of a partially dissected human body was an anatomy chart, although it was written in a language he couldn't read. The machine with the circular front in the corner of the ceiling was a camera, and the bit of metal linking his intact left wrist to the metal frame of the cot was a handcuff.

These things were facts, and beyond these, he had _feelings_ , vague senses of how things should be that floated up somewhere from the aching hollow within. Like the tiled floor... just felt wrong. The mattress of the cot was too soft and springy, and the room too brightly lit. He had an impression of a different chamber somewhere else, a dark chamber with a dirt floor, covered in places by carpet, a lower, harder bed, where the light came in from one side only... but the more he chased the feelings, looking for details to pin them down, the more they floated out of reach.

But these things, the facts that he knew, and the feelings that he desperately pursued, didn't add up to a coherent whole. They didn't add up to an identity, the truth of who he was. He had been given a name: Abdur Rashid al-Afridi. But who _was_ he? He felt desperately lost, abandoned and alone. There was something he was sure he'd always done before when he felt like this, but he couldn't recall even that.

The one thing he knew was that he was a soldier. A commander. And he'd attacked this 'Module 77,' whatever that was. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Why would he want to attack these people, or anyone else for that matter? What cause was he fighting for? Was he a just soldier who fought to defend the weak, or was he-

The door whooshed open, and he looked over quickly. The man entering the room wasn't any of the three he'd met so far, a tall, broad-shouldered blond youth wearing a blue suit jacket over a white shirt, and blue pants which matched the jacket. Foreign clothing, he knew, although he wasn't sure how he knew that.

The youth stepped to his bedside, looking dispassionately down at him with blue eyes, his gaze travelling over his body to stop at the stump of his left leg. "My condolences for your losses," he said in Arabic. "Although if we'd had our way, you would have lost more than just a hand and a foot."

The man licked his lips again, his mouth going even drier than before as the confusion and terror he'd been keeping at bay bubbled up once again. "What are you saying? I don't understand..."

"I really underestimated those kids, didn't I?" The youth continued as if he hadn't spoken. "And I guess it was pretty foolhardy of me not to use one of you as a host... but just... look at this!" He prodded the man's right bicep with a finger. "I couldn't be expected to make do with _this_ , could I?"

The man shrank away from the youth's touch, confused and frightened. "Please, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't remember anything, please, don't..." His gaze flicked to the camera in the ceiling corner.

The youth followed his gaze, sighed in annoyance, shaking his head. "Nobody's watching us. Left myself a backdoor into the computer just in case. And come on. Don't beg. It's just... whatever." He slipped a hand into his jacket. "I should get on with it. You live and you learn, right? Well, I guess you won't..." His hand came out of the jacket, holding a gun.

The man stared at the gun, but strangely, now that it came to it, the fear was gone. It had been the prospect of living, not knowing who he was-perhaps never knowing who he was-that frightened him. The prospect of death held no dread for him; as far as his memories were concerned he may as well have been born on this hospital cot a few hours ago, and there was nothing in this brief life that he cared enough for that he feared to lose. The youth was right. He wouldn't beg.

Maybe it would be enough of an identity to face death with dignity.

Chapter 9 End

* * *

**AN: Thanks to xchrispx and Christemo for beta-reading.**

**I know that the whole thing with the different languages comes kind of out of nowhere, and it was only barely touched upon in the show, with Haruto reading 'licht' and Saki not knowing how to say 'hello' in Karlstein. But based on those two examples they're clearly not all speaking some kind of new world language, and the Dorssians are SUPPOSED to be speaking German, but it's being translated into Japanese for the audience's sake. I've decided that the different languages thing is important enough to lampshade, so there's going to be occasional words or phrases not in English or Japanese. I apologize ahead of time if I screw any languages up. If anyone who speaks a language that's misused in the fic, go ahead and PM me and I will fix it.**

**I hope the Shoko Shoko plan was sufficiently brain-problems-y. Really, really wanted to take her back to her season 1 roots instead of the abomination she became in season 2.**

**Regarding Eruerufu's reaction to Dosi and the 'magic man' terminology, something I always found interesting was the only thing that really freaked Eruerufu out in the series was when crazy random shit started happening that he couldn't comprehend: the bodyjacking, Cain's magic powers, etc. And while he eventually adapt, he'd first go into this kind of meltdown mode. And I really liked that aspect of his character. So I decided to expand on that with a little bit about his childhood.**

**Thanks to everyone again for reading, and hopefully you enjoyed the chapters!**


	10. Chapter 10 - Baton

Marie centered her phone's view on the gaggle of students outside the window and took a picture. She studied the output.

_'Not bad. Good lighting, lines are clean. This one's a keeper.'_

Four days had passed since what the students were now calling 'the Blackout,' and things on the Module were more-or-less back to normal-other than one detail. Marie found herself sighing wistfully as she gazed out the window of her office. Sakimori's lush green lawns were gone, replaced by expanses of gloomy black and brown. The carefully horticultured trees had all shed their leaves and their bare branches looked as if the Module's climate-controlled winter had come early. Again.

_'Might as well set the Module to winter mode, the snow would look better than all that dead grass...'_

Rather than taking such a drastic step, a few students had decided to at least replant the flowerbeds around the school so there would be at least some spot of color. They were outside Marie's window now, digging shallow holes and carefully positioning seedlings and bulbs donated by ARUS. And amongst them was a boy with a face prettier than any flower.

Marie felt herself blushing as she gazed at the Dorssian in the short-sleeved shirt. He'd set aside his crutch for the moment, sitting by the box which held the seedlings and passing them out to others to plant. His hair was a little ragged, but it was the perfect shade of pale lavender to set off his pale skin and violet eye. His nose was sharp and aristocratic, and his mouth (currently set in a smile from something one of the students said) wide and expressive. The line of his chin was delicate, almost feminine, but there was nothing womanly about the width of his shoulders or the lean muscle of his arms. A near-perfect picture. If there was one element which threw the composition off, it was the black eyepatch which covered his left eye-but even then, it added a aura of bad boy mystique.

_'If he lost that weird braid, and had his hair a little shorter, he'd make a ten out of ten shot. Yum.'_

Marie took a picture of the Dorssian. And then another, mildly annoyed when one of the girls clustering around him got in the way. Audrey (she'd heard the name from other students) had become something of a hero since fighting on the students' side during the Blackout, and his good looks had made him an instant hit among the Module's female population. And unlike the sour-faced L-Elf (who was admittedly good-looking in his own way), Audrey behaved like a normal human being, so enjoyed a level of popularity that the first Dorssian defector never had.

_'Now if only those hussies would quit blocking my shot!'_

There came a knock at her door, and Marie lowered her phone. It looked like Audrey's photo session would have to wait. "Come in!" She called.

The door opened to admit Midori-chan. Marie frowned. Midori-chan was usually pretty upbeat, but today her eyes were downcast, and her hands were fidgeting at her sides. "Midori-chan? What's wrong?"

"Hey, Marie-chan..." Midori-chan greeted her as she took a seat. "I, uhm... I was wondering... could I ask you a personal question?"

Marie hadn't expected that. She didn't much like to talk about her private affairs, except maybe only with Shoko, and even then only sparingly. But then, Midori-chan looked so troubled... "I guess so."

"Well, I, uhm, I heard these rumors about you a while back... just rumors, you know. And I didn't want to ask you about it, cause, you know, just in case. And it'd be rude besides... but something happened to me lately, and I thought that you might be able to..." Midori-chan trailed off, staring nervously at Marie's face.

Marie realized she was gazing dispassionately again, and forced herself to adopt a more concerned expression. "You can ask."

"Is... is it true you have amnesia?"

"Yes," Marie said flatly.

"Oh. Uhm... can I ask how, how bad-"

"Nothing before fifteen years old. The first thing I remember is the Welcoming Ceremony from my first year here. I was standing in the crowd with no idea how I got there or who I was. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I, uhm..." Midori-chan's voice lowered to a whisper. "I haven't told anyone else this, but I can't remember anything from before when I was six years old..."

Marie's eyes flew wide open.

"The worst part of it is, I know I USED to remember. It's like someone just reached into my head and sucked the memories right out," Midori-chan went on. "And something else, too. I don't remember anything about this 'Blackout' everyone keeps talking about."

Marie felt a faint hope stirring to life. "Not at all?"

"Nothing at all," Midori-chan confirmed. "The last thing I remember is... walking. I was outside, I think. Then I'm in the hallway on the second floor, by B-2, and it's half the day later and everyone's telling me about this huge crisis we went through."

"I heard you'd gotten lost but found a flight suit or something?"

"I guess so, but I don't remember that either. I only heard about it from other people, like a day later."

"So you're missing those two episodes?" Marie asked, trying to hide the eagerness in her voice. "Anything else?"

"That's it, I guess," Midori-chan said. "I mean, that's all I think there is, anyway. Not like I can really remember if I'm not remembering something... I was wondering, uh, I mean, I don't know if there's anything you could do, but if you could help-"

"Lemmie see your hands," Marie said.

"My hands?"

"Yeah, lemmie see em."

Midori-chan slowly stuck her hands out, wincing as Marie grabbed onto them. "Ow! Marie-chan, you're hurting me! Leggo!" She tried to pull away.

Marie ignored her, tightening her grip until Midori-chan stopped struggling and gave up. She examined the skin of the other girl's hands carefully, turning them to get a good look.

_'After all this time, have I finally found someone else like me?'_

No, almost immediately she could see it wasn't true. There were minor imperfections in the skin of Midori-chan's fingers. A discolored splotch on her right middle finger, just below the nail. A hangnail on her left ringfinger. There were a pair of matched circular scabs on the meaty base of her left thumb, and an odd fading circular bruise on her right wrist. Marie let go of the other girl's hands, disappointed.

Midori-chan rubbed her hands. "What was that about?"

"I don't think you have the same kind of amnesia as me." Marie said.

"Huh? There's different kinds of amnesia?"

"I just mean we're not-" Marie stopped. Disappointment aside, she clearly remembered the shattering disorientation of her earlier days. Midori-chan's amnesia may be the normal kind, and she wasn't missing as much time as Marie, but the things she was feeling now were surely the same. "Maybe you were deprived of oxygen during the Blackout and it caused brain damage, and that's why you can't remember."

"Brain damage?" Midori-chan's hand flew to her temple. "Please, no! You really think that I have...?"

"Sorry. It's just a theory." Marie said. "I can't help you regain your memories..." She smiled wryly at Midori-chan. "If I could, I wouldn't be an amnesiac. But there's something important for people in our position. Something that can help."

"What is it?"

"It's best to look ahead, instead of looking back. Even if we lose our memories, we can always make new ones."

"But... what about my childhood? The time with my family? All those moments, they're irreplaceable..."

"At least you still know who your family and friends are. They're still alive, aren't they?"

"Yeah..." Midori-chan nodded. "But my family's all back on the Sphere. And with the war..."

"The war will end!" Marie said. "Look forward, remember? You'll see your family again!"

"Look forward! Right!" Midori-chan nodded, a determined look on her face.

"Something more practical." Marie said, "Get into photography! Whenever something important happens, take a picture of it! Keep a journal, and write down everything about the pictures you take. Buy hard drives and back everything up in triplicate! So even if this-" She pointed at her own head. "-fails you again-" She held up her phone. "-THIS won't."

"Thanks, Marie-chan..."

"No problem."

"So, uhm." Midori-chan stood up. "Would you like to eat lunch together?"

"Sure." Marie checked the clock. "I'll meet you in the cafeteria in half an hour?"

"Okay." Midori-chan headed out the door. "See you then!"

As the door closed behind Midori-chan, Marie put down her phone and looked at her own fingers. Unlike Midori-chan's hands, her own digits were flawless: no cuts or bruises, no marks, not even a spot of dry skin.

It hadn't taken long for her to realize that she was different from everyone else at Sakimori. Apart from the amnesia, she had some kind of healing factor. Like everyone else, she picked up her share of bruises and cuts from everyday life, the odd paper cut or bump on the shin. But unlike everyone else, her injuries disappeared within seconds.

She'd had enough knowledge despite the amnesia to know that this wasn't NORMAL, and so she'd hidden it away from everyone else, even Shoko. Back when Marie was a first-year, she'd been lucky enough to not have a roommate, and nighttimes became the time for experimentation, morbidly picking away at her own flesh to see how far the healing thing went. One night, driven by her dark obsession, she'd gone far enough to-

**_The blades of the pruning shears were cold against her skin, rasping back and forth slightly as her hands trembled. Gritting her teeth, she forced the shears closed as quickly as she could. She was unprepared for the white burst of pain that shot up her arm, or the spurt of blood that left crimson droplets spattered across the bathroom mirror. The severed first joint of her pinky fell into the sink, and she dropped the shears with a clatter, groaning and clutching at her maimed hand-but the pain was already fading, and she watched in sickened fascination as flesh and bone sprouted back like a time-lapse video of rain-soaked mushrooms._ **

The nail hadn't grown back immediately with the rest of the finger, but it had come back in over the course of several months, at the normal growing pace of a nail. Marie looked at her pinky now. It was indistinguishable from any of her other fingertips, with not even a line to mark that it had once been severed.

Marie had stopped the experiments after the pinky test, afraid of how far she might go. If she could regrow a finger, did it also mean she could regrow her limbs? Vital organs? Her head? Was she actually immortal? The questions haunted her, but she didn't want to find out the answers to them.

The internet hadn't been of any help. Online queries about "amnesia" and "healing factor" only netted her results about some ARUS manga character named Wolverine, a short, surly hairball of a man (although she had to admit that the JIORan actor who played him in those live action movies was incredibly hot) with metal claws that came out of his hands. She'd watched all the movies and tried to get into the manga, but was put off by its incredibly convoluted publication structure and excessive retconning. Read a dozen issues across eight publications just to get Lady Deathstrike's complete backstory? As if.

The other clue Marine had was the tattoo on the left side of her lower back. It looked a little like the Mitsubishi logo, only with parts of the diamonds removed. Perhapes a little too much like the Mitsubishi logo, because when she'd taken pictures of it and ran it through internet image searches, the only thing she'd gotten back WAS the Mitsubishi logo. The tattoo seemed to be related to her condition somehow though, because when she'd tried to cut it away, it returned, as if it was a part of her.

She'd been hoping so much that Midori-chan might provide her with another clue. But it looked as if Midori-chan's amnesia was the normal sort. Such a shame.

* * *

**THREE WEEKS LATER**

* * *

"Alright, hot stuff! You've got a photoshoot lined up in the afternoon tomorrow. It's a, whachamacallit, gravure shoot, so we're gonna go out to the beach."

"Mmm-hmm," Saki replied desultorily.

"And I've got a preview of your outfit! Check it out."

Saki looked up from her phone to the tablet that Taylor was pushing at her. She stared, the image on the screen temporarily taking her out of her funk. "Is... is that a Carmilla-themed swimsuit?"

"You betcha, kiddo. Look, it's even got the one green leg!"

Saki took the tablet from Taylor for a better look. It seemed like it might be pretty fun to wear. "What's that thing on the side table? Oh, my goodness. Is that a swimcap? With the crest thingie?"

"Think so." Taylor shrugged. "Haven't actually seen it in person. Speaking of, what DO those things on the Valvraves' heads do anyway?"

"No idea." Saki put down the tablet. "I didn't design the things. I'm just a pilot."

"And one hell of a pilot at that! Let's just hope there's no terrorist attacks tomorrow, am I right?"

"Right," Saki mumbled. She was meeting with Taylor, her new manager, a 51 year old man with a shaved head and a prematurely white goatee. At first glance Saki had thought he might be too old, but he had more energy than most people half his age, though his constant uptalking and bubbling energy got on her nerves a little. She'd signed a deal with an ARUS record company two weeks ago, and Taylor was part of that deal. He was an effective manager, nowhere near as good as Alice, of course, but good enough. To be fair to Taylor, she might be judging him overly harshly, due to the bleak mood she'd been in for the past few weeks.

Haruto had been extremely scarce since the Blackout, spending all his time with L-Elf and A-Drei. He said he was doing heaven-knows-what with security stuff. And it wasn't quite like he was actively avoiding her again, as he had done after the fight against VVV II. He sent texts to her regularly and even had time for some actual voice calls. But he was never around in person. The last time she'd seen him face-to-face had been days ago.

_'And we were getting along so well too...'_

She was feeling rather conflicted about the whole thing. It might not have been so bad if she was still in her tiny student dorm room, but the bigger room she'd shared briefly with Haruto felt so empty without him around. And the brief taste of companionship she'd had had only made her present return to loneliness harder to bear. But at the same time, if Haruto was doing important work, work that kept the Module safe, wouldn't it be selfish to demand he spend time with her instead?

With some effort, Saki pushed Haruto out of her mind. It seemed like his absence was all she thought about lately. "Beach, you said? Sorry, but we're not supposed to leave the Module. Official policy."

"No need, the beach is right here on Module 77! You guys have a waterfront in town, not a fifteen minute walk from the school! I scouted it the other day, it's right by, well, I don't remember the road name but I know where it is!"

Saki nodded. "There's not gonna be any swimming, right? I can't swim."

"No swimming if you don't wanna! Maybe a little wetworks, a little lying around in the surf, playing with sand, that sorta thing."

"Standard stuff, okay."

They chatted a little more about business. Saki was pleased to hear that the song-writing was going well, and she would have her first recording session in less than a week. She felt a little nervous about going back to work, but overall she found herself looking forward to the experience. Singing a song completely in English would be a new thing, but she felt like she could read from written lyrics well enough to make it work.

Shop talk over, Taylor took his leave, and Saki was alone in her room. She looked wistfully at the tablet which showed the bikini she was to wear. Maybe she could stand to head down to the hanger bay to get some practice in with Carmilla. The green Valvrave was now fully repaired, the special machine shops computers unlocked by Akira-chan last week. So the Module now had the capability to replace any missing special gear the Valvraves may lose. And Kibukawa-sensei was even investigating the possibility of building completely new Valvrave units.

_'More Valvraves... Haruto wouldn't like the idea of even more immortal cursed pilots...'_

There was Haruto again. But now that Saki was alone, she could dwell on Haruto all she wanted. She looked at the tablet again, an idea forming in her mind. She picked up her phone. Text or call? She decided to call. It'd be harder for him to refuse if it was a live call...

...probably.

* * *

"Orrrrryyyaaaa!" Haruto yelled, doing his best imitation of Yamada as he planted his foot and pivoted, sending the actual Yamada tumbling to the floor mat.

"Hey, hey! Not bad, Haruto!" Yamada deftly flipped himself back to his feet, moving with much more agility than Haruto thought someone of that size should be capable of. "Nice job there!"

"Thanks," Haruto said. "But you let me get that throw there, didn't you?"

"Nah, man! You're selling yourself short! That was legit!"

"He's telling the truth, Tokishima Haruto." L-Elf remarked from his side of the room where he was fiddling with a tablet. The three were in L-Elf's security station, where Haruto had been spending a good part of his days in his efforts to hide his condition from Saki. As part of his routine, he had daily sparring sessions with Yamada. "You have shown marked improvement since the beginning of your training."

Haruto looked over at L-Elf. He didn't think the Dorssian would humor him, which probably meant he really was improving. "Thanks, I-"

**"Boku ja nai, boku ja nai, boku ja naaaiii!"**

Haruto crossed the room to where his uniform was lying on a chair. He rifled through it and pulled out his phone. "Moshi moshi?"

"Hey, Haruto!" Saki said cheerfully. "Whacha up to?"

"Not much," Haruto replied. "Doing some training with Yamada-"

"It's Thunder!" Yamada put in.

"-with Thunder." Haruto corrected exasperatedly. "Both he and L-Elf say I'm getting better!"

"Really? That's great!" Saki hesistated a moment, "mind if I take up some of your time?"

"A little break, Thunder?" Haruto asked.

"Go for it, man!"

Haruto nodded. "So what's up, Saki?"

"Just got out of a meeting with the new manager. He's got me doing this gravure photoshoot tomorrow. You won't believe what they've got me wearing!"

_'Gravure, that means she'll be...'_

Haruto gulped, his stomach doing flip-flops. A gravure shoot meant that there would be lots of skin. "A bikini?" He said carefully.

"Yes, it's a bikini. But you'll never guess what kind of bikini!"

"Uhhh..." Haruto tried to picture what would look good on Saki. Problem was, Saki made just about everything he imagined look good. "I dunno, a blue one?"

"It's a Valvrave-themed bikini!" Saki gushed. "Looks just like Carmilla and everything!"

"Oh." Haruto wasn't sure if he shared Saki's enthusiasm. It sounded kinda tacky... "You have it there with you?" He mentally prepared himself for Saki to send him a picture of herself clad in it.

"I only got to see a picture of it." He could hear the pout in Saki's voice. "Anyways, guess where I'll be doing the shoot!"

"The pool?"

"Nope! We're going to the beach! The beach!"

"That sounds nice!" Haruto meant it. When was the last time he'd been to the beach? Summer vacation of last year? "Hope you have fun!"

"Actually, I was hoping we could have fun there together," Saki said wistfully. "You've been working pretty hard, right? A break would do you good!"

Did he want to go to the beach with Saki? Yes, very much so.

_'But right now? With the attacks going again? The last thing I need is to be at the beach with camera crews or whatever for the shoot, and get it caught on camera... not to mention what I might do to Saki if it happens again. Even if someone stops me, it'd still be traumatizing for her.'_

No, the best thing to do would be to play it like he'd been doing for the past three and a half weeks, and stay well away from Rukino-san.

"Sorry, Saki..." Haruto said, smiling sheepishly although she couldn't see his face. "There's still lots of work that needs to be done. We still haven't found the person that killed Beardy... and the security measures could still use some going over..."

There was a long pause on the line. Haruto was just starting to wonder if they'd disconnected when Saki spoke again, her voice considerably frostier. "Right. Lots of work. I understand."

"Saki..." Haruto didn't want to leave it like this. "I'm sorry, it's just that-"

"No apology necessary, Haruto. I understand, I do." Saki sighed. "I should get going. Piloting practice doesn't do itself, you know."

There was a click as she ended the call without bothering to say goodbye. Haruto stared at the phone for a moment before putting it on top of his piled clothing.

"Trouble in paradise?" Yamada came up to him. "Well, nothing like a good workout to take your mind off things. Let's get back to it!"

They went through a few more rounds. As much as he tried, Haruto couldn't manage to throw Yamada again.

Finally, Yamada called a stop."Hey man, I can tell you're not into it. So let's call it there for today."

"Sorry..."

"Nah, don't worry. Can't have a perfect session every time! You've been working hard, lots of improvement in your form and technique! But your strength could be a little better," Yamada said. "It's been three weeks! You hitting the weights like I showed you?"

Haruto nodded. "Yeah. I've been meaning to talk to you about that, actually. I've been following the workout you gave me. But... I don't seem to be getting any stronger. I'm supposed to be doing the heavier sets now, right? But I can barely lift the weights, and there's no way I can finish all the reps..."

"That's weird." Yamada squeezed Haruto's bicep. "Seems the same. Hafta take a look at that."

"Regarding that, I have an experiment I'd like to suggest," L-Elf said from his side of the room. "Tokishima Haruto, please record your current weight and begin consuming two pounds of youkan every day in addition to your ordinary meals."

"What... you're trying to get me to bulk up?" Haruto stared at L-Elf in confusion. "Aren't you the one that's always going on about 'youkan lacks nutritional value?' Youkan's just seaweed juice and sugar. Sure, it's got some protein from the red bean paste but not much. I'd just get fat instead of gaining muscle."

"Please humor me," L-Elf insisted.

"Alright..." He could feel his chest tightening up at the thought of trying to choke down all that youkan. He liked youkan, certainly, and Shoko's youkan was exquisite, but two pounds was a little...

_'No, that's not it. This is-!'_

"GUH!" The attack doubled him over, gasping and shuddering. His fingers bunched in the material of his gi.

"Haruto! What's wrong?" Yamada bent over him in concern. "You okay, man?"

"Yamada..." Haruto choked out, "Get... get a..."

"A what? Whaddaya need? The Heimlich?"

"Get out of the way, Yamada Raizo." Haruto was only dimly aware of L-Elf crossing the room towards them. The Dorssian's fist smashed into his solar plexus, spilling him to the floor.

"WHAT THE FUCK, MAN?" Above him, Yamada roughly shoved L-Elf away. "Haruto! Bro! Talk to me!"

"I'm okay," Haruto wheezed. He could taste bile, and he wanted to throw up, but at least the attack was over. "I'm okay."

"You better explain this shit, L-Elf," Yamada stood between Haruto and L-Elf. "Right now."

* * *

"Man," Yamada mumbled. "That's rough."

Haruto watched Yamada closely. The last time Yamada had found out details about being a Kamitsuki he'd been exuberant, laughing and making poses. But now he was scowling, his expression heavy. "I know it's alot to take in, Thunder." He hadn't told Thunder about what had happened at the shrine with Saki, though. That would have to remain a secret.

"So these attacks, you've been having em cause you're the first Kamitsuki?" Yamada asked. "This shit is gonna happen to all the rest of us?"

"There's nothing to suggest the process is inevitable," L-Elf said. "Tokishima Haruto's first attack, to my knowledge, was less than twenty minutes after his first exposure to the Valvrave. Since then, no other pilot has had similar attacks."

"I think if you guys were gonna have attacks, Saki would have had one already," Haruto pointed out. "Think it's just me."

"Still something to keep in mind..." Yamada mused. "I'm guessing this ain't something you want the others to know?"

"Please."

"You're one secretive bastard, ya know that?" Yamada shook his head. "I won't tell the others, but man, you need to seriously quit hiding shit. It's gonna bite you on the ass someday."

"It already has," Haruto said.

Yamada stared at him for a moment, waiting to see if he would finish the thought. When it was clear Haruto wasn't going to explain,he shrugged. "Whatever, man. Ain't my problem." He checked his phone. "I gotta get going. Kibukawa-sensei's got some new gear he wants Akira and me to help him out with. Says it's a two-man job, and I can't leave ol' Rainbow to go at it alone. Later!"

Haruto watched him go before turning to L-Elf. "So about those security assignments..."

* * *

Raizo looked at the thermal gauge on his console. 93... 94... 95...

"Nobu Lightning over 90," he reported.

"Go ahead and set up in the positions I told you two earlier," Kibukawa-sensei instructed.

Raizo dutifully pulled Nobu Lightning out of its circle (and about time, too. The motion was starting to make him queasy), hovering opposite Little Witch several hundred yards away. He looked over the recent addition to his cockpit controls, a small box with a row of six buttons. His Valvrave was carrying a payload of six canisters on its back; although he couldn't see them through his camera feed, he knew they were there.

Little Witch pointed the bore of her new weapon at him. The hastily-assembled device looked a bit like a supersoaker, Raizo thought.

"In, in position," Akira squeaked.

"Ready!" Raizo said.

"Valvrave General-Purpose Countermeasure, Test One, begin!" Kibukawa-sensei said.

"Little Witch, firing!"

-blap blap blap blap blap!- The familiar sound of sealant striking Nobu Lightning rattled through the cockpit.

"I'm gunked," Raizo reported. "Firing up one and two."

He reached out and pressed the first two buttons on the box. There were a pair of whumps as the unseen canisters detached from Nobu Lightning's chassis, but only silence as they exploded, spraying Nobu Lightning with a glittering silver mist. The thermal gauge immediately started to drop, ticking down to 71 within a few seconds.

"Ooooooh! It's like that cooling system in the hanger! But portable!" Raizo was impressed.

"Now do some manuvers," Kibukawa-sensei ordered.

"Orrraaa!" Raizo complied, striking a sentai pose with Nobu Lightning. "Hey, the goop ain't holding Nobu Lightning back! Awesome! What's in that stuff, Sensei?"

"It's a chemical solvent that dissolves the sealant. Water-based, so it retains the same cooling effect on the Valvraves. And we don't have any of those Dorssian boomerangs here to test, but it should have the same effect on them as we saw with the water that one time."

"Nice..." Akira whispered.

"It is, isn't it?" Kibukawa-sensei said smugly. "Fixes all three of our weaknesses in one easy solution! Let's just see those guys try to mess with us now! Come on back in, you guys."

* * *

Akira stared hard at her digital keyboard as her fingers danced over the keys. She finished the line of code she was working on, then scrolled back up to check it over. Looked good. It would have been better if she could blind-type, but the lack of tactile feedback on her digital keyboard made it extremely difficult. Maybe if she taped over where the home keys were on-screen?

_'Set up an algorithm to check camera feeds for missing or looped footage, get it to trigger an alert in the system when it finds something...'_

The problem with Module 77, Akira reflected, was that while there were cameras everywhere, there weren't enough eyes to watch them all. There was too much chance for something to happen on an unmonitored feed, with nobody ever seeing it. And even reviewing footage took up too much time. To that end, Akira had 'liberated' a piece of experimental software from a company based in Ireland, which allowed for the detection of edited camera footage in real time. There was even a function to identify and track individuals across multiple cameras, although Akira was still trying to get that part of the program working. The thing was easily confused by people of similar height and build in similar clothing, and in a school environment with uniforms like Sakimori...

_'Still, if only we had something like this three weeks ago. Then we would have known when the camera in the hospital room stopped working, and we might have found out what happened to Beardy.'_

Akira patted Ms. Tomato on the head. "But once I get this up and running, we'll never have to worry about intrusions again!" She told the green doll.

It was still a mystery of who killed Beardy and how they got his body to ARUS. But there it was. Beardy had mysterious vanished from his hospital room, and a day later ARUS news reported that they'd recovered the body of Abdur Rashid al-Afridi from the wreckage of the space battle. L-Elf believed that there had to be someone else on the Module, but the camera in the room and in the medical wing had stopped working around the time the incident had taken place. And the only person in the area at the time had been Satomi.

There was a muffled thump from her left, and Akira looked over to see ARUS workers working on the nearby VVV V, painting the Beast High logo onto its shields as a pair of armed students from the Module Defense Force looked on. After the Blackout, L-Elf and Haruto were taking no chances. Everyone coming onto the Module had to be registered, and students followed them wherever they went. Shoko-chan told her that many of the ARUS visitors were complaining bitterly about the heavy security, but so far everyone had complied with it.

_'Not Unit Five anymore. Now it's Beast High. It's Inuzuka's Valvrave and he can name it whatever he wants, but ad space? Really? Talk about selling out to the man...'_

Come to think of it, a can of Beast High WOULD go down pretty well. Akira briefly considered texting Satomi, but then shook her head. The blasted ad was working on her already! She shrugged to herself, turning back to her work. However, after going through the program settings for a few minutes, something in one of the smaller windows at the side of her console caught her eye.

She double-tapped on the window to enlarge it. Until she got the monitoring software running, she had the windows on her console set to cycle between camera feeds. It was still a crapshoot if she actually caught something, but she figured if the feeds were changing she'd have a better chance.

Right now, the feed was of C-6, an unused classroom. Or at least, it was SUPPOSED to be unused. But there were a pair of students currently in the room, a brown-haired boy wearing a cap and a girl with a shiny golden ornament decorating brilliant red hair. Akira didn't know either of them by name, but she'd seen their faces before through other camera feeds.

Akira squinted down at the monitor. Far from engaging in suspicious behavior, the couple in the feed were doing some heavy petting, their hands all over each other as they shoved their faces together. Akira felt her mouth quirk as the girl started pulling off the guy's jacket.

_'Uwaah, they're really gonna do it!'_

It wasn't the first time she'd spotted students doing the nasty. Even before the war started, there'd been cases of students sneaking off to have sex. Module 77 was a new Module, and its population was low compared to the more established Module 17 where Akira was born, so there'd always been places for people to hide. But the rate of students having sex had exploded ever since Haruto and Saki-chan made their announcement. Unbeknownst to the pilot couple, there was even a camera in their new room-although Akira had never looked at the feed there. It'd be weird and squicky to see them doing stuff, since she knew them and all...

But complete strangers? That was fair game; no different from watching porn!

"Ceiling Akira is watching you!" She said aloud, giggling at her wit and reaching behind her behind her seat for a package of dried nori.

 _'Gotta have salty for sexy times!'_ She tore open the package and peeled off a crinkly green sheet, laying it on her tongue. On screen the two were now half-naked, going at it on top of the teacher's desk. She turned on the audio and the sound of moaning filled Little Witch's cockpit.

She watched them for a while, crunching away at her seaweed treat. In no time at all the couple was finished, the girl rolling off the boy and getting dressed. The boy searched around the desk, looking for his cap that had fallen off during the action. They finished putting on their clothes, exchanged a kiss, and then exited the classroom, holding hands.

 _'What, that's it? Talk about no stamina. Actual porn's much better. Wouldn't have time to get off to that, if I'd wanted to.'_ Akira put her half-eaten package of nori away. She returned the maximized window back to its place and cracked her knuckles. Time to get back to work. She'd-

-the feed on the window cycled, and she was looking at Inuzuka's office. Shoko-chan and Inuzuka were sitting across his desk from each other, chatting.

_'Haven't talked to Shoko-chan in a bit. Maybe I should send her a text.'_

* * *

"So Hassenfeld's put out their first line of Valvrave Plamo, and they're selling like hotcakes in ARUS. Even better than the projections!" Kyuma said excitedly.

"That's great, Senpai!" Shoko agreed. "Hassenfeld... that's the company that makes all the toy guns that shoot foam darts, right? How are they treating ya?"

"They're pretty fair," Kyuma replied. "A little pushy, maybe. They keep wanting to take liberties with the Valvrave Plamos. Like making more accessories and wanting to throw in extra stuff like transforming and combining."

"Oooo, the kids'll love that. Did you let them add the extras? Or are you too much of a purist?"

"Didn't add em, but!" Kyuma held up his hands, "not cause I'm opposed to it or anything. What I told them was, why don't we do the initial run with the basic package, you know, my U- I mean, Beast High with the shields, Carmilla with her yo-yos. And then once interest runs low on that, THEN we add the gimmicks!"

Shoko applauded. "That's brilliant, Senpai! Milk 'em for all their worth!"

"Yeah!" Kyuma laughed, "soon we'll be rollin' in cash!"

Shoko's phone rang, and she looked embarrassed. "Sorry, Senpai, gotta take this. Might be someone important."

"No problem."

Shoko pulled out her phone, looked at it, quickly entered a text, and then tucked it back into her pocket.

"Anything important?"

"Mmm-hmm! Very important. It was Akira-chan saying hi."

"Ah," Kyuma nodded.

"Speaking of Akira-chan, how's she doing these days?" Shoko asked. "I haven't been able to keep in touch with her as much as I'd like..."

"She's doing fine, I think. I'm not really sure; I haven't seen her since right after the Blackout."

"Wait, you saw her? Like, in person?" Shoko's eyes were as big as saucers.

"Yeah, she came out of her Valvrave for a moment," Kyuma explained. "Dunno if she's come out since then though."

"She got out!" Shoko squealed, grabbing Kyuma's hands. If he hadn't been across the desk from her, she probably would have whirled him around. As it was she just settled for waggling his arms over their heads. "That's such great news! I need to get her a present!"

"She's been talking more too," Kyuma offered. "I haven't known her all that long but I think she's opening up a little. Mostly to Yamada, of all people."

"Yamada," Shoko seemed surprised. "But he's so loud! Well, he's a nice enough guy. Anything else?"

"Dunno what else to tell you. L-Elf's been keeping her really busy lately with computer security."

"That's what she told me, too." Shoko released Kyuma's hands. "How about the rest of you pilots? How's everybody holding up?"

"Pretty well," Kyuma said. "Everyone's been working hard. Haruto's been doing his Defense Minister stuff, hanging out with L-Elf alot. I'm doing the financing, Akira-chan you know. Yamada's been doing some hardware testing with Kibukawa-sensei, I think. And Rukino-san's getting back into the Idol stuff... although not everybody's working hard comes out to the same thing..."

"Huh?" Shoko looked puzzled.

"Sorry, crappy joke," Kyuma laughed. "I heard Rukino-san's going down to the beach for a photoshoot tomorrow. Talk about working hard or hardly working, right?"

"Oooooh..." Shoko's eyes lit up. "The beach, is it?" She looked craftily out of Kyuma's window, toward the blue water of the bay that surrounded Sakimori Island. "I think I'm getting an idea..."

* * *

The meal was exquisite as ever, but Chamca watched Alo carefully across the stone table atop the second-floor veranda. She was playing the charming hostess, as ever, but there was a sense of urgency in her actions, and her small talk seemed forced.

'Im _patient. There's something she wants to ask very much and she just wants this play-acting to be over.'_

Indeed, as soon as the meal was over and he'd used the customary spell to block out eavesdroppers, she immediately threw a question at him.

"Where is Prince Gabriel?"

"Still on Module 77," Chamca said apologetically. "It seems he was not with the other Dorssian prisoners when they were taken into custody by ARUS."

"So he was being held elsewhere?" Alo sighed. "Is he still in JIORan custody?"

"No. He appears to have defected to the JIORans."

Alo looked around as if to make sure the green bubble of Chamca's spell still surrounded them, her mouth a grim slash. "You mean he has been possessed by one of the artificial Magius?"

Chamca looked at Alo for a moment. _'Yes, that would bother you, wouldn't it? Hits too close to your ideals. The kind of thing that set the Revolution in motion.'_

"It doesn't seem like it," Chamca said, trying to keep his unease from showing. Of all the people that could betray him, A-Drei hadn't seemed a likely candidate, with his iron-clad loyalty to Dorssia. Although perhaps in the end his loyalty to his friend had been stronger. "They don't seem to possess other bodies unless absolutely necessary. It appears to be a legitimate defection."

"How do you know he hasn't been possessed?"

"Dosi has been observing him," Chamca replied.

"I see. Dosi has elected to remain on the Module as well?" Alo asked.

"Yes. We've determined that the failure of the previous operation stemmed from a misunderstanding of the JIORans' crisis response. Since Dosi is already on Module 77, he may as well stay to gather intelligence for our next operation." Chamca smiled. "He reported that the JIORans are strengthening their security measures, both physical and digital. Nothing he can't handle, he claims."

Alo took this in. "So what is the next step?"

"We wait," Chamca said. "Dosi also reported that the JIORans are in the process of developing countermeasures to the tactics we've used to neutralize the Valvraves in the past. If that's so, we must have the ability to fight them on equal ground before we engage them again. There's two projects in development toward that end."

"Two? I only know of one, the refitting of the captured Valvrave unit. What is the other?"

Chamca smiled enigmatically. "The Children of the Valvrave."

Chapter 10 End

* * *

**AN: Thanks to xchrispx and Christemo for beta reading!**

**One thing I always thought was silly about the show was how Marie seemed to have no inkling that she had high-speed regeneration. If you had that power, that's not something that you'd miss, especially after living with it for a year and a half. So Marie will fill a somewhat different role in this story than in the show (where she really was only there to die and make Haruto all emo again)**


	11. Chapter 11 - Obligatory Beach Episode

**AN: Because every anime must have one, and we sure as hell didn't get one in the show.**

**This chapter is dedicated to all the deer of Module 77. Dead or alive.**

* * *

**Year 48 of the True Era: 19 years before the opening of Sakimori High**

_**It was one of those days when everything in the world seemed gray.** _

_**The sky was overcast with gray clouds, their dismal color reflected by gray waves in the sea below. Men clad in heavy gray coats went about their business, striding with their gray rubber boots over the gray weathered planks of the small gray crabbing boat.** _

_**Hisasi held back a sigh as he looked across the choppy monochrome waters of Suruga Bay, back towards land. Even the snow-capped peak of Mount Fuji was gray instead of its customary white today. The wind gusted across the deck, causing him to shiver.** _

_**An unseasonably cold front was blowing in from the south, and Hisasi reflected that it didn't feel much like summer at all. He was spending this summer vacation working alongside his uncle on a crabbing boat, trying to make a few yen. It was his third day on the job, and already he was regretting his decision. What was a city boy like him doing out here?** _

_**"Cold enough for ya, Hisa?" Uncle Koei clapped him heartily on the shoulder. "It's alot better than the muggy weather out in Tokyo! Just feel that breeze! Invigorating, ain't it?"** _

_**"Invigorating..." Hisasi agreed weakly. "Really, uh, gets your blood flowing."** _

_**"Doesn't it?" Uncle Koei said. "You ready to work?"** _

_**"Yeah." Hisasi followed his uncle to the rear of the ship and took up one end of the rolled up net. "Ready to go."** _

_**They worked for the rest of the morning. Before he'd started on the job, Hisasi really hadn't known what to expect from a crabbing boat. He'd had a vague idea in his mind of something like the ARUS crab fishers he'd seen online, huge industrial ships with massive refrigerated holds, dropping steel crab pots from great powered winches, going on voyages that lasted for days or even weeks at a time... but the ship his uncle worked on was a far smaller affair.** _

_**The Kanemaru was ancient, a decades-old relic passed down to its current captain by his father. It had a crew of eight, including Hisasi, and instead of crab pots it used a trawling net which deployed from the rear of the ship. They set off early each morning and returned at night, and their daily catch was meager at best.** _

_**The catch for today, however, was worse than the past two days Hisasi had been on the crew. They trawled for hours, but only brought up eight spider crabs, two of which were too small to keep. Finally the captain called for a halt to the fishing, and the Kanemaru started to make its way further away from land as the crew broke for lunch.** _

_**"Where are we headed, Uncle?" Hisasi asked as he polished off his onigiri.** _

_**"Out into deeper waters," Uncle Koei replied. "Should be better out there. The crabbing closer to land's not as good as it used to be..."** _

_**Hisasi endured as his uncle launched into one of his 'in my day' stories about how the crabbing was so good and plentiful in his youth, too polite to interrupt. He nodded and made the proper noises, but his thoughts turned to the stars. Too many JIORans, particularly of the older generation, were too obsessed with bygone days. With JIOR Sphere One's framework nearly complete in the sky above their very heads, who really cared about depleted fishery stocks here on crummy old Earth?** _

_**Finally they reached the deeper waters and went back to work. The crabbing here was ever so slightly better than the shallower waters where they started, and Hisasi worked alongside the other crewers for several hours, before something odd happened to the trawling net.** _

_**The spool that the net was deployed on was hand-wound, and Hisasi was taking his turn at the crank, slowly taking in the net as others pulled fish and crabs and the odd bit of rock and debris from it. Suddenly, the net grew taut, the crank refusing to spin any further. The men working the net paused and turned to look at him as the net stopped moving.** _

_**"It's not moving," Hisasi stated the obvious.** _

_**One of men shouted towards the front of the ship, while the other man nodded, making a winding motion with his hand. "Give it a little slack, and we'll try and get it untangled."** _

_**Hisasi obediantly fed a little slack into the line. The men grabbed the bottom of the net and shook it back and forth, but the net refused to budge. After a few minutes, the captain came to the rear of the ship. He took a look at the stuck net and shrugged. "Go ahead and give it a good yank. We'll just mend the rip after we turn in."** _

_**Hisasi tried to turn the crank, but it wouldn't go. Uncle Koei came over, putting his large weather-beaten hands over Hisasi's. "Ready, Hisa? On three. One, two, THREE!"** _

_**They jerked on the crank together, and with a shudder the mechanism turned, the net coming in once again. Hisasi continued to turn the crank, waiting for the section of damaged netting to come into view. But the thing that rose from the gray waters of the bay was completely beyond his expectation. One of the men whistled as he saw it, and the other danced back nervously, as if it might bite him.** _

_**Entangled in the net was a piece of jagged, twisted metal, about the length of a man's arm. Hisasi slowly moved over to the net, gingerly removing the metal from the rope mesh. The shard was lighter than he expected, its surface a deep shimmering blue, as if all the color missing from the sky and ocean on that day was concentrated within it. A craggy crust of barnacles clung to it in places, but the shard's smooth azure sheen wasn't pitted or corroded, as he would have thought a piece of metal from the bottom of the sea should be.** _

_**As he turned it over, he could see some kind of text on its surface, written in an unknown script. The text glowed like bright blue flame, seeming to hover centimeters above the surface of the metal. He squinted, brushing his fingers over the letters, sure it was some kind of optical illusion-but no, the letters weren't incised or cut into the material of the shard, or even printed on its surface. They floated free like a hologram, and his fingertips passed through them without any sensation or resistance.** _

_**A shadow fell over him. "What do you have there?" The voice of the captain asked.** _

_**Wordlessly, Hisasi held up the shard, and the captain took it from him, examining it in much the same way as Hisasi had. Uncle Koei came up beside him, and the captain looked over at him. "Koei. You know what this is?"** _

_**Uncle Koei shook his head. "Can't say I do."** _

_**"It's salvage," the captain breathed. "Get me the GPS coordinates."** _

* * *

"Okay, turn your head to the side, tilt your face up a little. Arms behind your head. That's right. Now, sultry! Sultry! Oh that's perfect!"

Saki obediantly turned her face slightly away, half-lidding her eyes as she gazed at the camera, parting her lips slightly. The camera's shutter clicked several times.

"That's enough of that one," the photographer instructed. "Next we'll take some over in the surf."

Saki surreptitiously scratched at her left armpit as she sank down to her knees in the gently lapping waves. She'd gone over her pits, legs, and bikini line meticulously this morning in preparation for the shoot, and the skin under her left arm was now itchy.

_'Would have thought the Kamitsuki healing factor would fix that, but apparently nothing cures shaving irritation...'_

She was on the beach, dressed in the Carmilla bikini Taylor had sent her a picture of yesterday. A photographer and a lighting crew were doing their thing as Taylor watched from the side, ready with a fruity beverage in case she got thirsty.

"Press your arms in a bit, so they push your breasts up a little..."

Saki did as the photographer said, feeling subtly dirty. Had she been too long away from the business? In the past, she'd been clinically detached from this sort of thing, maybe even a little pleased that somewhere someone was ogling her and increasing her fame that much more. But now she just felt a little queasy.

The photographer took her through a series of poses on her front, then had her lie down on her back in the surf.

Saki shuddered as the surf washed against her, suddenly chilled to the marrow of her bones in a way that had nothing to with the cold water. The sand on her bare back reminded her uncomfortably of hard-packed earth from another time and place. Her heart was pounding and she struggled to just lay there instead of curling up into a ball and screaming.

_'Dammit, not now... please not now...'_

Dimly, through the roaring of her pulse pounding in her head, she could hear the photographer's voice.

"What're you doing? Come on, Rukino-san! Pay attention, we're on the clock here!"

"Hey, hang on. I think there's something wrong with her..." Taylor interrupted. He stepped over to Saki and bent over her in concern. "Hey, kid, you're shivering. You okay?"

Saki gave him a brief shake of her head.

Taylor thought for a moment, then turned to the photographer. "Alright," he said. "Shoot's over. You got enough shots to work with, right?"

"Yeah," the photographer said slowly, seeming now to understand something was wrong. "Think so."

_'Interrupting a shoot for something like this? I'm a professional, dammit! Can't let this beat me!'_

"Wait..." Saki gritted out, forcing her trembling limbs to stillness. "We're finishing the shoot."

"You sure?" Taylor asked.

"Yeah." Saki forced a smile, sitting up. "Show's gotta go on. Just gimmie a moment..."

"Take all the time you need," Taylor said, handing her her drink.

"Thanks..." Saki took a big slurp through her pretzel straw. Banana and strawberry shake. The cool thick liquid soothed her nerves a little. She took a deep breath and nodded. "Right. Let's get back to it!"

* * *

The shoot was finally over. Saki sat in her springy beach chair, a fluffy beach towel draped over her shoulders as she watched the photography crew pack up. Her shake was down to the dregs now, and as she started to set it down, Taylor reached out a hand from his position standing beside her. Saki handed it off to him with a quiet "thanks."

"No problem." Taylor put the cup into a plastic bag. "I know how you JIORans get about litter. Don't worry, I'll keep your beaches clean!"

"That's a stereotype..." Saki shot him a dirty look.

"Naw, it's true!" Taylor insisted. "I saw your campus. Pretty clean considering a bunch of kids are calling the shots. You shoulda seen my high school back in the day. Cigarette butts everywhere."

"Hmph," Saki grunted. "I'm just saying, don't think every JIORan's like that. I skip out on cleaning duty all the time."

"Yeah, yeah, you're a filthy slob," Taylor agreed good-naturedly, before lowering his voice. "So, uh... if you don't mind my asking, back there, anxiety attack?"

"Anxiety attack?" Saki's head whipped around. "Why do you say that?"

"I have a brother-in-law who was in the military." The usual jovial tone was missing from Taylor's voice. "He fought in the New Guinea conflict two years ago. The Dorssians pulled this ambush... or covert op, what have you, at a base there, and five thousand good men lost their lives. You heard about that?" When Saki didn't answer, he continued. "My brother was one of the survivors. But he was never the same after. The army sent him home cause he couldn't fight anymore, on account he'd have these... attacks. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the doctors say. What happened to you just now, it seemed similar to me."

Saki's throat was dry despite the shake she'd just finished. "I see..." she said awkwardly. PTSD? It might very well be, when she thought about it.

_'And so what if it is? It's not like I can see anyone about it, not without giving away our secrets...'_

"And I know you've been through your share of fighting," Taylor continued. "So if you ever want someone to talk to, or to talk to a therapist or something, I can hook you up."

"Thanks, Taylor," Saki said politely. "But I think there's some misunderstanding. I was just cold there, that's all."

Taylor studied her a moment before laughing. "Well then! That's a load off my mind. But you come talk to me if you ever have any problems, y'hear?" He looked over at the photographers. "They're about done there, so what say you head on back to the changing room so we can get outta here?"

"You go on ahead," Saki took a deep breath. "I'm gonna stay down here a little longer." She didn't feel much like going back up to Sakimori just to stay alone in her room at the moment. At least being at the beach in the open air was better.

"Alright," Taylor handed her a baggie. "Here's your clothes! I'll send you the pictures we pick for the set later."

Saki watched as Taylor and the photography crew went on their way. She sat in her chair for a while, idly wiggling her toes in the wet sand and thinking of nothing in particular. She'd just about decided to also leave when the faint sound of voices came drifting over the water.

She looked down the beach towards the source of the voices. There, making their way out of the trees, was a group of students in casual clothes. Some were dressed in bathing suits. Among them she spotted Yamada, flame-colored hairdo towering above the others, as well as Inuzuka-senpai's mop of mossy green hair. Even the Dorssian A-Drei's pale purple locks. And there, gestulating excitedly towards the crowd, was Shoko-san, wearing a baggy t-shirt and shorts.

_'What is that, a beach party?'_

Down the beach, students started opening large sun umbrellas and planting them in the sand. Shoko-san cast about with one hand shading her eyes, chancing to look in Saki's direction.

_'Ah. She saw me.'_

Shoko-san was now making broad come hither motions towards her. Saki shrugged mentally and headed down the beach. She hadn't really spoken to the energetic girl since, well, before they'd landed on the moon, and it felt a little awkward. But Shoko-san came running to meet her, her face as open and friendly as ever.

"Rukino-san! It's great to see you! Wanna join us?"

"Uh... sure..." Saki let Shoko-san escort her over to the crowd. "What's going on?"

"It's a beach party!" Inuzuka-senpai declared.

"Yup yup!" Shoko-san nodded excitedly. "I thought since everyone was working so hard since the Blackout, we deserved a little break! And when I heard you were doing a photoshoot on the beach from Senpai, it just sounded perfect! Hold still for a second!" She pulled out her cellphone and snapped a quick picture of Saki.

"Uwaaah!" Saki waved her hands. "I don't want you taking commemorative photos of me!"

"It's not a commemorative photo! It's for Akira-chan!" Shoko-san protested.

"Huh?" Saki hadn't been expecting that. "Did she ask for pictures of me in the Carmilla bikini? I don't..."

"No, not specifically," Shoko-san explained. "Actually she didn't ask for any pictures. But since she couldn't be here in person, I figured I'd give her the blow-by-blow with pictures! It's the next best thing!"

"Oh." Saki hadn't realized Shoko-san and Akira-chan were so close. "That's, uh, pretty nice of you."

"No, not really! Just the least I could do for a friend!" Shoko-san peered over at the beach umbrellas. "Oh, they look about done!" Saki blinked as Shoko-san pulled off her t-shirt and stepped out of her shorts just like that, revealing a rather skimpy pink bikini underneath. A megaphone was suddenly in her hand as if it had appeared from nowhere.

"OKAY, EVERYONE! LET'S GET THE ACTIVITIES STARTED!" Shoko-san trumpeted.

Shrugging to herself, Saki followed Shoko-san. She wasn't particularly interesting in the beach party, but it beat sitting around alone at home surfing the net.

* * *

"Come on, Senpai! To your left!" Akaishi-san shouted as she snapped a picture with her phone.

Raizo laughed as Kyuma obediantly rotated left, the bamboo blade of his practice sword swinging right over the watermelon, as indignant squeals rose from the crowd.

"Hey! No helping, Midori-chan!"

"No fair! If I had a spotter I would've hit it!"

"Sorry! Sorry! It just slipped out!" Akaishi-san withered away.

"Here I go!" Kyuma raised the practice sword above his blindfolded head, then brought it slicing down. "Yaaaaah!"

The tip of the bamboo blade crashed down to the ground, raising a respectable plume of sand-but missing the watermelon by inches. "Ah, dammit!" Kyuma groaned good-naturedly at his miss, slipping his blindfold off.

"Awwwww, it was a good try, Senpai!" Shoko-chan said, claiming the practice sword from Kyuma and holding it up. "Who's up next, Marie-chan?"

Nobi-san checked her phone. "Yamada Raizo."

"It's Thunder!" Raizo roared as he took the practice sword from Shoko-chan, making sure to get a good look at where the watermelon was relative to his feet.

"Good luck!" Shoko-chan held out the bandana they were using as a blindfold. Raizo bent down so she could tie it around his eyes, not too pleased at the thought of it messing up his 'do in the back. "Since Midori-chan helped Kyuma-senpai with his attempt, you can have a spotter too if you want, Thunder! But they can only tell you one thing!"

"I got your back, Thunder!" Tatsumaro volunteered from the sidelines.

"Nah, it's cool!" Raizo declared, turning his blinded face towards where Tatsumaro's voice had come from. "I don't need a spotter! I got GUTS on my side!"

"Yeah! Guts!" Shoko-chan cheered. "Well then, girls, do your thing!"

Raizo grinned in enjoyment as many small feminine hands took hold of his arms and shoulders as they spun him around. "Spin! Spin! Spin!" The crowd chanted.

"Aaaaaaaand... STOP!" Shoko-chan cried. "Okay, Thunder! Show us whacha got!"

The hands released Raizo, and he took a deep breath. The world was spinning around him and being unable to see made the disorientation worse, but he thought he had a good idea of where the melon was. He turned towards where he suspected it was and went into a kendo stance. The other students were making a hell of a racket, but he ignored them, raising his blade and bringing it down in one smooth motion. "ORRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The satisfying splat of the melon smashing apart sounded in his ears, as the impact reverbrated up his arms. A few drops of wetness splashed his bare feet, and he raised the practice sword above his head and bellowed in triumph, expecting the other students to cheer at his success.

Instead, he only heard silence.

"Hey, guys? Some applause?" He grumbled, carefully sliding off his blindfold so it wouldn't mess up his hair any more than it already was. "How bout a cheer for the win-"

Raizo trailed off as he saw what had happened. He'd hit the melon so hard he'd pulverized it, and bits of pink flesh and black seeds were now splattered over the students gathered around him. Rukino-san, who'd been standing nearly in front of him when he'd made his strike, was particularly messy. Red juice dripped from her face and wet hair, and her funky cosplay bikini was streaked with pulp. She was glaring at him in fury.

"Oops."

* * *

"Lowenglitzen Test Sequence... Begin in ten, nine, seven..."

Soichi pulled the tinted goggles down over his eyes.

The cool female voice continued over the PA. "Three, two, one, fire."

Even behind his tinted goggles, Soichi was forced to squint as a searing blue-white light blazed from the wall port of the cavernous zero-g room below him. The wide windows of the observation deck gave him a full view as the light struck the armor plating mounted on the far wall. There was an explosion as the superheated material of the armor plate vaporized. He felt it more than heard it as a dull "whump" through the soundproofed walls. His bones buzzed uncomfortably with the vibration.

_'Attending one of these tests is completely different from watching recorded footage...'_

The beam of light dimmed, then vanished, leaving behind a melted hole in the armor plate, its edges glowing white-hot. Engineers in hazard suits immediately floated around the hole, taking readings with various instruments.

"It's something, isn't it?" Kitagawa-san asked from his side, pushing his goggles up onto his forehead.

"Yeah. Something," Soichi replied, as always completely disdainful for the military application of his work. These military types were like children, obsessed with explosions and flashy colors. The true power of his research wasn't in such small tricks of light and energy, but in CREATION, and that was a feat these small-minded men bent on destruction could never achieve. "I'll probably get used to it soon enough."

"Oh, trust me, Tokishima-sensei," Kitagawa-san said. "It's not something you get used to."

"I'll take your word for it," Soichi said. Kitagawa-san was the chief engineer of the VVV Project. While Soichi had designed the Rave Engines, it had been Kitagawa-san who'd integrated them into the distributed power systems for the Valvraves. Their Dorssian captors had brought them together once more to work on this new project, although neither man was particuarly willing. Any weapons they developed here would eventually be pointed at the Valvraves, after all, and while Soichi was confident that the boy would be able to overcome them, there was no point in tempting fate. "How'd it look?"

"Looked on spec," Kitagawa-san said. "Gotta wait for the reports to come in."

The door whooshed open behind them, and both men turned together.

A man Soichi had quickly come to hate strode through the door. Pletnyov Pyotr, a Dorssian, his 'overseer' for the duration of the Kirshbaum project. Soichi resented working under the man; prior to this, he'd never heard of Pletnyov before in any scientific circles, and his request to see Pletnyov's resume had been ignored.

_'Unthinkable that I, Tokishima Soichi, one of the greatest scientific minds who has ever lived, am forced to bow and scrape to this unpublished buffoon!'_

The most credit he could give the man was that MAYBE he was some kind of secret government scientist, who'd been hired early out of university or graduate school to work for the secret shadow council or whatever his current Dorssian 'employers' were. But even then, Pletnyov was young, his short hair raven black and his broad Slavic face unlined. Soichi estimated that at most he was in his late thirties.

And yet, despite his youth, Pletnyov knew things, rudimentary facts about Rune-based technology he should have no way of knowing. His knowledge was nothing compared to Soichi's decades of expertise, of course, but it boded ill for Soichi no matter how he considered it. Either the Dorssians had their own research program into Runes, based on their own sample (and there was nothing to suggest that the JIORan Sample Prime was the only one), or the Dorssians had discovered the location of Sample Prime itself, information that even Soichi wasn't privy to.

"So, Pletnyov! How'd it go?" Kitagawa-san asked.

"Good! Just as expected!" Pletnyov replied, speaking Japanese with a thick Russian accent that Soichi had to struggle to understand. "Burned through three layers of armor plate, minimal scorching on the fourth. Power output, heat shunting, everything performed wonderfully." He turned to regard Soichi. "The energy usage though... it could use a little work, Professor Tokishima."

 _'He raised the issue, as expected.'_ Out of the corner of his eye, Soichi caught Kitagawa glancing at him, and he launched smoothly into his explanation as he'd planned.

"The energy usage is the best we can do under these circumstances," Soichi said. "If you'll recall we reduced the battery drain by 18% since the preliminary design phase. Perhaps if we had some more time to work on it... A week, perhaps?"

It was, of course, a blatant lie. The battery overdrain had been a deliberate choice on his part. He could easily reduce the energy usage by nearly 75% in a few hours, while retaining 80% of the destructive yield... but that would be making life too easy for his captors.

"No, no more time," Pletnyov said. "Assembly begins next week. We'll use the rotating battery system. It'll be clunky in the field, but that can't be helped."

Soichi nodded. "As you wish. Is there anything else?"

"Actually, there is," Pletnyov said. "Professor Kibukawa, you can go back to your quarters. Professor Tokishima, I'd like you to come with me. There's someone who wants to meet you."

Kibukawa-san nodded. "Okay, I'll see you later, Tokishima-sensei." He glanced backward before he went out the door.

"Shall we?" Pletnyov gestured for Soichi to follow him.

Soichi had no choice but to obey. He went with Pletnyov out of the observation room, down a hallway and to an elevator. Along the way, Pletnyov's two assistants, a young man with reddish brown hair and a young woman with a brown ponytail fell in with them. Soichi shot them both brief glances. The two were probably still in graduate school, the best assistants an inexperienced man like Pletnyov rated, probably.

They took an elevator down several floors, then walked for several minutes through twisting corridors to a part of the facility Soichi had never seen before. They came to an unmarked door, one of several along a long hallway, and Pletnyov signaled to his assistants to wait outside before he opened the door and waved Soichi through.

The door opened into an unremarkable windowless room, filled by a long conferance table and dozens of chairs. The sole occupant of the room was a dark-haired woman sitting in one of the chairs. She looked up as Soichi entered and spoke in Japanese. "Hello, Tokishima Soichi."

_'A backer?'_

Behind him, there was a whoosh as the door shut, and Soichi glanced over to see that Pletnyov hadn't entered the room. He was alone with the woman, and he looked back at her, taking in her features.

She was slight of build, probably in her late thirties, her dark curly hair framing a slim face. Her eyes were black, and her skin was a light bronze. She looked to be Caucasian. Mediterranian, maybe. She was dressed in a dark blue business suit and her hands were on the table, empty. And she was smiling at him, although her smile didn't touch her eyes.

A perfectly average businesswoman, by the looks of her. And yet Soichi found himself completely and inexplicably terrified.

He swallowed hard to moisten his dry throat, bowing slowly and respectfully to the woman. "It's, it's an honor to meet you. May I ask your name?"

"You can call me Daitya," she replied amicably, pulling back the chair next to her. "Please, take a seat."

Soichi gingerly sat in the proffered chair. "Thank you, Daitya-san."

"Just Daitya," Daiya insisted. "The 'activation mix' you spoke of at our last meeting, have you had any success in synthesizing more of it?"

"Our last meeting?" Soichi echoed, momentarily confused and too distracted by fear to understand immediately what she was talking about. Surely he would have remembered if he met her before. "I'm sorry, I don't-"

"Conference call," Daitya explained. "I was on the other end."

"I see," Soichi said, "well, uhm, I'm having some problems recreating the formula from scratch. And of course any sample I create may contain defects which can't be determined until put into action..."

"If you had a currently existing sample to work with, could you duplicate the formula?"

"Duplicate it..." Soichi's mind was working overtime. He'd suspected that the Dorssians had captured a Valvrave unit a while ago, and each of the five service-ready Valvraves had a supply of the Third Iteration activation mix onboard, enough to activate dozens of Homo sapiens Novus. But according to the internet the last attack on the Module had been three weeks ago, and all five Valvraves were still accounted for. Not to mention the attack had nothing to do with the Dorssians... And if they had access to the activation mix, surely they would have asked him to duplicate it earlier?

"Yes, I could duplicate it from a sample," Soichi said. There was nothing to be gained by delaying on this point. He could only sabotage the Dorssians' efforts so far before they started to question his usefulness. And in any event he could hardly be asked to duplicate something they did not have. "I... think I could."

Daitya studied him for a moment, her dark eyes glittering. "I'll hold you to that," she said finally.

* * *

"Got some more water," Kyuma said, setting down his plastic blue beach bucket.

"Thanks, Senpai!" Ogura-chan dumped the contents of the bucket over her pile of sand and mixed it to the right consistency. She began to shape the lump of wet sand into a wall. "Could you make another run?"

Kyuma sighed. If only he had a larger bucket, his team's sand castle-building would be much more efficient. The lack of proper capital goods was taking its toll.

 _'Some better real estate would be nice too...'_ He enviously eyed the castles nearer the waterfront. _'It'd be nice to not walk so far to the water every time.'_

"I can go get the water this time, Senpai," Midori-chan offered, smiling shyly and reaching for the bucket.

"Nah, I got it," Kyuma said, picking up the bucket again. As he wound his way through the other lots, he noticed Shoko near Seiya-kun's team's castle, talking with the builders. He moved closer to listen in.

"Uwaaaah!" Shoko exclaimed, taking a picture of the sand castle. "That's amazing! What do you call this wonder?"

"It's the Fortress Kabuto Mark One!" Seiya-kun exclaimed.

Kyuma whistled to himself as he studied the "Fortress Kabuto Mark One." It was nearly twice the size of what he, Ogura-chan, and Midori-chan had managed to put together, a three-foot tall construction of towers and halls and buttresses. Seiya-kun's team had done things he didn't think was possible to do with wet sand.

Evidently Shoko thought the same. "How did you get that tower to be so tall but still so skinny? And ooooh, check out those roof edges!" She gushed as she snapped more pictures.

"Our special technique! It's Super Sand Alloy Z!"

"Uhm... what?"

"No, sorry," Seiya-kun laughed. "We packed the sand around a branch. It adds support for the structure, see? Basic engineering!"

"That's putting your skills to use, Kamisugi-san! Speaking of engineers, though..." Shoko looked around. "Is Otamaya-kun with you? I don't think I've seen him around today."

"No, he was gonna come but then he changed his mind at the last second," Seiya-kun reported. "Said he had something important to work on with the Valvraves."

"Awww, but today was supposed to be a break from working!" Shoko pouted. "Oh well. You'll be sure to give him the blow-by-blow later, right, Seiya-kun?"

"Will do!" Seiya-kun promised.

 _'The engineers sure do work hard. And they're largely unsung too.'_ He resolved to get Otamaya-kun a gift of some kind later for missing the beach party.

Shoko was moving down the beach to the next castle in line, being built by Yamada and two of his friends. Kyuma followed, the bucket in his hands all but forgotten.

"What is that?" Shoko asked Thunder.

"You like it?" Thunder was wearing a pair of bright orange swim trunks that matched his hair-or at least, it would have matched his hair if his mohawk wasn't encrusted with brown grit. "We call it 'The Fist Reaching to the Heavens!' It represents a man's indominable spirit!"

Kyuma stared at the thing Thunder and his friends had made. If he squinted... no, no matter how he looked at it, it didn't resemble a fist at all. It looked as if they'd just piled wet sand in a tall, crooked heap, then upended a bucketful of sand on the top to make a lumpy ball. There were a few vertical furrows carved into the ball that he guessed were supposed to represent the separation between the fingers...

_'But why are there five furrows? Wouldn't that make a six-fingered hand?'_

Shoko frowned in puzzlement at the thing as she took a picture. "It's... uh... very grandiose. But this is a sand castle building contest! Not a sand sculpture contest!"

"Bah!" Yamada crossed his arms over his chest. "This is better than any ol' castle!" He studied his team's creation for a moment. "Kengo! Dig a moat around it! If it's got a moat, it's a castle, ain't it?"

"Peniscompensation!" Rukino-san coughed into her fist from her lot a few feet away, where she and her teammates were building a round domed shape surrounded by spires.

_'Come to think of it, it does look more like one of those than a fist...'_

"What was that?" Yamada demanded.

"Nothing, just clearing my throat." Rukino-san batted her long lashes at Yamada innocently.

"I heard what ya said, ya singing bitch!" Yamada hooked his fingers into the waistband of his trunks threateningly. "Howsabout I show ya I don't need no COMPENSATION?"

"What are you, some kind of exhibitionist?" Rukino-san laughed.

"Now now, children," Shoko waved her hands placatingly. "This is a friendly competition, okay? Friendly!"

Smiling to himself at the other pilots' antics, Kyuma resumed his interrupted quest for water.

* * *

Akira scrolled through the latest three pictures Shoko-chan had sent her on her phone. Two were of more sand castles, and the third was a picture of some fish in a cooler, half-filled with ice.

_'The first castle is pretty cool, but the second one's just a weird lump...'_

She examined the picture of the fish. No idea what kind they were. Had the beach-goers caught them? Couldn't be, the Module's waters weren't stocked. The fish didn't look particularly fresh, with sunken eyes and dull scales. Probably came on a food shipment from ARUS.

_'Are they going to have a beach cookout?'_

Akira didn't feel like she was particularly missing out. 'Real' food was nice and all, but it couldn't beat out junk food for conveniance. Plus there was that annoying thing where most of it didn't keep at room temperature.

Her phone bleeped again as Shoko-chan sent her another picture, but even as she pressed the button to check it, movement on Little Witch's panoramic cockpit view caught her eye. She looked down to see Otamaya-san of the student engineers crossing the hanger bay.

Akira watched the otaku for a moment. He was striding across the floor with measured steps, looking straight ahead as he headed for VVV I, just across from Little Witch. He moved quickly, not exactly in a hurry but clearly with purpose in mind.

Otamaya-san reached the red Valvrave and rode the zipline up towards its cockpit. Akira pursed her lips as she watched him go. Haruto-san had impressed upon her when she'd first became a pilot to not let the other students mess around with her Valvrave, lest they also be 'cursed' (whatever that meant), and he probably wouldn't like Otamaya-san getting into VVV I. But on the other hand, Otamaya-san WAS an engineer. Maybe he was doing some kind of maintainence?

_'Nah, what am I gonna do, call him on his cell and ask him what he's up to? As if I could do something like that...'_

Otamaya-san disappeared into VVV I's cockpit. Akira shrugged mentally and went back to Shoko-chan's pictures. Whatever Otamaya-san was up to, it was probably part of his normal engineering duties...

* * *

The boy dropped down into the gloom of VVV I's cockpit from the light-filled world of the hanger bay. He landed in a clumsy half crouch, slowly peering around the spherical room as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. When he was confident that he could see, he made his way to the pilot's chair, circling around behind it and looking carefully at the metalwork there.

After a moment, he found the bit he wanted, halfway up the chair's spine. He felt along the sides briefly, nodded to himself, then pulled a tool from his pocket, setting it to the left side of the spine.

The tool whirred as its bit spun, removing the rivet in the chair. The boy worked methodically, removing five more rivets and setting all six carefully in a row at his feet. He grasped the middle of the spine, pulled and lifted simultaneously-

-and with a click, a cleverly disguised panel came away in his hands, revealing a hollow within the spine of the chair. Snugly hidden away in that hollow was a small gray cylinder, a few inches tall, marked with the three-sided international symbol for biohazardous materials.

The boy set the panel down and carefully turned a screw ring connected to the top of the cylinder. There was a faint click of a mechanism unlocking, and he tugged on the top of the cylinder.

The cylinder tipped away from the hollow on hidden bearings, revealing a needle-thin aperature at the top, through which its contents fed into the interior of the chair.

Instead of removing the cylinder from its perch, the boy withdrew from his pocket a two-piece disposable syringe in a plastic pouch. He ripped open the package and screwed the accompanying needle onto the top of the syringe, removed the plastic stopper from its tip, and gingerly inserted the needle into the aperture on the cylinder, withdrawing a few milliliters of murky fluid.

The boy pulled the syringe from the cylinder, his fingers trembling ever so slightly. He stared at the contents of the syringe for a moment, his gaze behind his glasses almost rapturous, before removing a plastic capsule and draining the syringe into it. That done, he pocketed the capsule, broke down the syringe into its component parts, replaced the stopper atop its needle, and slipped it and its torn packaging back into his pocket as well.

He began to tidy up, fitting the cylinder back into its hollow and replacing the panel on the back of the chair. Once the rivets were all back in place, he stepped back and examined his work carefully, looking for any sign of his tampering.

There was a small smear of dark blood on one side of the chair's spine, left behind by one of the pair of slowly-oozing holes on the side of his right hand. He wiped it away with a thumb.

* * *

"Yeaaaaah! Fiiiire!" Shoko-san crowed at the outdoor club members' success.

Saki made another nervous check of her ribbon, making sure that the fluffy ends were bright white and none of the pink watermelon juice remained.

_'Come on, girl. Quit checking it. This is gonna turn into a tic at this rate.'_

Yamada spraying her with watermelon bits had been really annoying. It wasn't that the juice on her skin or Carmilla bikini really bothered her; nor even the cleanup. The other affected students had joyously dunked themselves in the water, and while her dislike for submersion kept her from choosing that option, emptying a bucket of water over her head had accomplished the same thing. It wasn't until some time later when a ribbon chanced to swing past her eyes that she'd seen the white fluff at the end was stained pink with juice.

_**Her mother smiled at her as she plucked the coiled ribbon from the shelf. The expression startled Saki at first, but then she couldn't look away. As far back as she could remember she had never seen her mother smile like that: a genuine smile, full of warmth, and it was directed at her.** _

It had taken quite a bit of dunking and gentle scrubbing to clean the fluff, even as Saki prayed the delicate material wouldn't come apart in her fingers. And now even though she knew it was clean she couldn't keep from repeatedly checking to make sure.

_'Gah! Stupid Yamada! Why did he have to hit the melon that hard?!'_

The sand castle building competition had been pretty fun, she reflected, even though one of her teammates had been more interested in talking with the neighboring A-Drei instead of helping with their castle. The girl had been asking one question after another about L-Elf, and rather personal ones at that. It had felt good to do something concrete with her hands, even if it was only a transitory thing like a sand castle.

Over by the campfire, Shoko-san was instructing other students on how to gut and prep the whole fish from the cooler. Saki found her interest piqued. She'd never cooked fish over a wood fire on the beach before, and Shoko had claimed it to be one of those traditional things people should do when they went to the beach. Maybe a little cooking would take her mind off the whole ribbon thing.

As Saki came up, Ninomiya-senpai was gingerly dangling a fish by its tail, her arm extended as far away from her body as it would go. Her face had a faint greenish hue. "I don't think I can do it, Shoko! It's-it's staring at me!"

"It's just an optical illusion, Senpai!" Shoko-san encouraged her. "You know, like how a painting's eyes seem to follow you? The fish is dead, it doesn't see a thing!"

"Oh, for goodness' sake!" Saki snatched the fish from Ninomiya-senpai's fingers and pointed toward a beach umbrella with it. "You're so useless! Go be lewd over there!"

"Wha? Lewd? I'm-!" Ninomiya-senpai sputtered, glancing down at herself. She was wearing a pale blue skimpy tube top, and practically spilling out of it top and bottom. "You're one to talk! Look at you with tits hangi-eep!" She yelped and recoiled as Saki brandished the fish at her. "Fine! I didn't want to get my hands all fishy anyway!" With a final huff she headed for the beach umbrellas.

"I guess it's not for everyone..." Shoko-san sighed. "Have a knife, Rukino-san!"

Marie-san was standing beside the cooler handing out exacto-knives. Saki accepted one.

"Not EXACTLY the best for the job, I know," Shoko-san joked. "But they're better than nothing!"

The students went down to the water to clean their fish, dipping the carcasses to wash away the blood and dropping the entrails into buckets lined with plastic bags for proper disposal later. If they were on Earth, Saki reflected, they could have just left the entrails in the water and some other fish would have eaten them. But as it was the Module had no working ecosystems that could handle animal waste. It was only a simulation of a natural environment, after all.

Once the fish were gutted and their scales removed, Shoko-san showed the students how to thread them onto peeled twigs and stick them in the sand near the fire so they roasted over the flames. Saki couldn't help but be impressed at Shoko-san's knowledge.

_'If I remember correctly, Shoko-san's a politician's daughter? When'd she get so outdoorsy?'_

"Where'd you learn this stuff, Shoko-san?" She asked as the fish crisped slowly over the flames.

"Read it in a manga!" Shoko-san grinned. "'Clean out the blood from the spine!'"

Saki groaned. "So you really don't have any idea..."

"I promise you they'll be good!" Shoko-san said, as Marie-san nodded from behind her.

Ten minutes later, as Saki took a bite of perfectly browned crispy skin and flaky white meat, she had to admit that Shoko-san really did know her way around cooking.

* * *

When the sun was on its way down and the artificial sky of the Module was dimming to purple dusk and the campfire had died down to glowing coals, Shoko figured that it was time for the scary stories to begin!

_'Watermelon-smashing, sand castle-building, bonfire cookout, the only must-do activity left is scary storytelling!'_

And indeed, the conditions were just right. The beach was fronted by what should have been a shady strand of trees, but after the Blackout took down all their leaves, the trees were just skeletal fingers, clawing up toward the bruised-looking sky. Shoko suppressed a shiver as she looked at them. Spooky!

_'Yup! That's what scary stories are about! Atmosphere!'_

Shoko nodded to herself. The time was right. The students had gathered into little knots here and there, their activity level winding down. Most were just talking, although a determined few were still playing volleyball in the gathering gloom. She went for her megaphone.

"Hey, everyone!" She called with her amplified voice. "Gather 'round the campfire! It's time for marshmallows and scary stories!"

The students came in drabbles, gathering around the remains of the campfire and murmuring in anticipation. The best thing about the Module, Shoko reflected, was that evening didn't necessarily mean it got much colder; the temperature of the dome was adjusted independantly of the statue of the Module's sun. If they had been back on Earth, many of the swimwear-clad students would have needed to change into heavier clothing. There would also have been mosquitos, which weren't on the Module either.

As Marie-chan handed out sticks and a bag of marshmallows made its rounds, Shoko picked up a flashlight, shining it under her face so her features were outlined in spooky shadows. "It's a time-honored tradition of summer nights," she started in her best creepy voice. "After the beach activities are over, the beachgoers gather around the campfire and scare the pants off each other with their best scary stories!"

"Cool!"

"I've got one, Shoko!"

"Do we have to? I don't like scary stories..."

"It's okay, Rin-chan!" Shoko placated the shivering girl. "They won't be THAT scary! I just said that to get everyone in the mood!"

"Oh... okay then... as long as they're not too scary..."

With Rin-chan reassured, Shoko held up the flashlight. "So who wants to go first?"

"Me!" Suzuka-chan, a first-year, spoke up from the back of the crowd. "It was a dark and stormy night..."

"Hang on one moment!" Shoko handed the flashlight over to Suzuka-chan and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed Akira-chan's number, and smiled as it clicked through. "You don't have to say anything, okay? Just listen," she whispered quickly into the phone, before looking back at Suzuka-chan. "Okay, Suzuka-chan. You can start now!"

* * *

"And then when the police came, they found the man in the girl's basement, banging a stick on the pipes to make the sound, CLANG CLANG CLANG, trying to attract the girl down to the basement so he could get her..." Takeru-chan finished, the flashlight beam glittering brightly off her golden hair brooch and the glow of the campfire coals reflected in her red hair.

"That was a good one, Nichijo-san!" Kyuma applauded.

"Thanks, Senpai!" Takeru-chan took a small bow.

"Okay, who wants to go next?" Shoko asked as the flashlight was passed back to her.

The bag of marshmallows had long been roasted and eaten, and there had been quite a few stories told, including some pretty frightful gems like Satomi-senpai's story about hearing spectral footsteps in top of the unused south stairwell in Sakimori High's main building, and the one Takeru-chan had just told about the CLANGING in the basement. But as the silence showed, things seemed to be winding down. She noticed that Audrey, their second Dorssian refugee, had nearly fallen asleep. Giggling to herself, she took a picture of him and sent it to Akira-chan.

_'Not affected much by scary stories, Audrey? You better wake up though, cause it's my turn now!'_

"If nobody else has one, I've been saving the best for last!" Shoko pointed the flashlight at her own face. "This is a true story about something that happened to a friend of mine, no more than a week ago!"

"Who was it, Prime Minister?" Someone wanted to know.

"I'm not telling!" Shoko shook her head. "I promised them I'd keep it a secret!"

The crowd's gaze turned as one to Marie-chan.

"This was another friend!" Shoko said. She lowered her voice as she started her story. "Anyways, so there my friend was the other day, walking around the Module. It was just about dark, like it is right now. She was over on Shoju road, where the nature preserve used to be, you know?"

Several students nodded.

_'Good, good, I've got em hooked!'_

"So there my friend was walking around, and in the trees over there she sees this little flash of white! Can you guess what it was?"

"A ghost!" Someone called out.

"You'd think so!" Shoko replied, pleased at the audience participation. "But it wasn't! Or maybe... it waaaAAAAaaaAAAAAaaas!" She threw a quaver into her voice. That kind of stuff set the mood, right?

_'Or maybe not. Now they look more confused than anything.'_

"It was the white tail of a deer!" She continued. "And that made my friend think twice, because as you all know, all the Module's deer should have died during the Blackout when the dome was emptied of air. So how could there be a deer? Well, my friend is the curious type, so she decided to follow the flash into the woods!"

"Wow! You're so brave, Marie-chan!" Midori-chan breathed.

"Wasn't me," Marie-chan mumbled.

"My friend that WASN'T Marie-chan started to follow the deer deeper into the forest. It was getting darker, and darker! But whenever my friend thought she'd lost sight of the deer there would come a little white tail flash in the distance, leading her on!" Shoko made a beckoning motion to build atmosphere. "After a while she realized she didn't know how to get back to Shoju road anymore, and the only thing she could do was follow the deer tail!"

"Wait, couldn't she just pick a direction and head in a straight line?" Juto-kun pointed out. "The nature preserve isn't that big."

"As expected of our Minister of Transport!" Shoko said. "But no! She, uhm, when she tried to get out of the woods she just ended up going in circles!" She hadn't actually considered that aspect of the story before so now she was just making stuff up on the spot, but getting lost in the woods and going in circles was a hallmark of scary stories, right?

"But how did she know she was going in circles?" Juto-kun wanted to know.

"The... the moon!" Shoko said. "She could see the moon!"

"But... the dome faces away from the moon." Juto-kun pointed out. "And even if she could see the moon, wouldn't it let her-" His eyes opened slightly as he realized what was going on. "Ohhhh. Sorry, Shoko..."

"No worries, Juto-kun!" Shoko rubbed her chin. "Uhm, where was I? Oh yeah, so my friend was getting all lost in the woods, and just when she was about to freak out, she sees this one last flash of the deer tail, right? So she follows it, and she comes to this clearing in the woods. And smack dab in the middle of the clearing is..."

She suddenly spun to face the person closest to her and screamed at the top of her lungs. "A BIG PILE OF ROTTING DEER CARCASSES! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Marie-chan stared back at her, blinking slowly, her face stoic and emotionless as usual.

_'Oh yeah. Probably should have tried that on someone else.'_

Shoko looked towards the rest of the students. Rather than the expressions of terror she was expecting though, most of them looked confused. A few looked bored. Audrey still looked like he was about to fall asleep.

Yamada-kun raised his hand slowly. "That it?"

"Yeah. That's, uh. That's it." Shoko said lamely.

"Oh. Not bad, I guess." Kyuma clapped weakly.

* * *

Akira made a face as Shoko-chan's story came to an end.

_'Ending on a jump scare? That's pretty lame, Shoko-chan. What are we, ten?'_

She popped another marshmallow into her mouth. Not roasted, like the students at the beach party were enjoying, but close enough. The sounds of the other students talking were still coming over the phone, filling her with twinges of trepidition. But at the same time, she wanted to join them.

She wanted to get out onto the beach, feel the wet sand squishing between her toes and the surf on her legs. Smell the salt of the sea wind (okay, so that last one wouldn't be possible on the Module, but whatever).

Above all else she wanted... she didn't know what. Companionship? Participation? Just to hang out with other kids and shoot the breeze? What was that even like, with others her age? Her last real social interactions had been back in middle school.

_'But it's never going to happen... I can think about it all I like but just hearing their voices over the phone makes me tense up. Even if I could get out there with no anxiety holding me back, I'd still be so tongue-tied... no way I could tell a scary story. I could never participate in something like this.'_

Shoko-chan's story had featured a deer ghost, but Akira herself sometimes felt like she was the real ghost, peering out of her computer screen at the students who populated the Module around her without being able to interact with them. And while watching had seemed like enough for the past three years she was at Sakimori, things had changed now that Shoko-chan had befriended her. The crushing sense of isolation was almost more than she could stand at times. And while she was a part of something as a Valvrave pilot, it still wasn't quite enough.

But now that she thought about it, there was a way she could participate. Ghosts could possess people, right? While she could literally possess people as a Kamitsuki, maybe there was another figurative way for her to possess someone. If she sent someone else a story as text, maybe they could read it for her?

But who should she get to read it? Shoko-chan was the first one to mind, but no, as much as she adored Shoko-chan, the energetic girl didn't have any idea how to tell a scary story. Shoko-chan's story could have been creepy as all hell, but it had been ruined by Shoko-chan's lack of understanding of timing or tone. Plus she did this weird oscillating thing with her voice that sounded like a four-year-old's idea of what a ghost would sound like.

No, Shoko-chan was out. So who else was there?

_'The obvious choice is Thunder. He's already kind of my de facto text reader for the other pilots...'_

Akira paused for a moment. How'd that happen, anyway?

Thinking back on it, she wasn't quite sure. There'd been something she'd wanted to explain to the other pilots, and Thunder's phone had happened to be out. And then it had just carried on from there.

 _'Well, whatever, might as well give him a shot.'_ She quickly sent him a text.

 **RAINBOW:** Hey Thunder, if I send you a story could you tell it?

The response came a moment later.

 **THUNDER:** Sure. Lay it on me!

That went well. Akira pursed her lips. Okay, now she had a reader. But what about a story? It wasn't like she had an overabundance of experience to draw from, or even friends to tell her their experiences...

_'Bah, who needs friends for scary stories? I've got the whole internet at my disposal!'_

It was Shoko-chan's last picture that gave her inspiration. In it, the Dorssian A-Drei was sitting with heavy-lidded eye, looking half asleep.

_'Sleepy Dorssian... DORSSIAN SLEEP EXPERIMENT!'_

Yeah, that would work. She pulled it up in a search engine. She'd have to change up the format a little as she fed it to Thunder, of course, and there were some little details that could use tweaking. Good thing she was a very fast typist.

* * *

"So... nearly... free..." Thunder whispered, the sound faint and barely audible over her cell phone.

Akira pulled the phone away from her ear. She'd been pressing it so hard against her head to catch every last nuance that her ear ached. She enjoyed a rather nice shiver, something she hadn't felt from a creepypasta in ages, with how jaded she'd become.

_'It's not really the content though. It's how Thunder TOLD it. That's what made it good.'_

As it turned out, Thunder was a great storyteller. Although it seemed to be his first time reading it, he'd managed to infuse the story with the proper atmosphere of mystery and dread. He even managed to do different voices for the characters, putting on a haughty nasal voice for the scientists. And the raspy whisper he used for the sleep-deprived... Ooooh, that had sent chills down her spine.

Akira hadn't really noticed it before since the previous messages she'd sent tended to be short, but Thunder actually switched out of his crude speaking style while reading her texts aloud. He had a rather pleasant speaking tone, deep and mellow. She'd found herself enjoying the rumbling thunder of his voice as he narrated the story.

_'Maybe I should send him more texts, just to hear him read them.'_

Pleasantness of his reading voice aside, she wondered if his normally brash speaking style was an affectation.

It was a rather odd thing when she considered it. Sakimori was an extremely posh school, a place for the sons and daughters of the affluent and privileged. There wasn't anything remotely like a thug culture to be found here, so what was up with Thunder's attitude? The rather out-of-place behavior stirred her hacker's instincts.

_'If there's something I can't resist, it's a mystery...'_

* * *

Haruto shuddered. That last story had hit way too close to home.

_'Monsters with the ability to live through massive physical trauma, created from a mysterious substance... a gas in this case instead of an injection, but it's close enough. Do Akira-chan and Yamada even realize how alike we are to the creatures in the story?'_

A few months ago, he would have laughed at the story's implausibility. It was too far from any kind of biological reality to hold any horror for him. Having so much of their tissue removed and not die of blood loss? Even if the story specified that the experimental subjects' blood carried more oxygen than a normal human's blood, it was still absurd. Or at least, it would have been absurd for the old Haruto. Here he was, with blood that by all standards (at least according to the medical scanner) was normal, regenerating from lethal wounds within a few dozen seconds. His life had become even more absurd than a horror story.

Haruto eyed the remaining three pieces of youkan on his plate queasily; it'd been hard enough already to choke down the half pound of youkan he'd alloted for the evening, but now... he pushed the plate away. So what if he was a few ounces off from the two pound target L-Elf had set for the day? He still had to be way over his daily calorie requirement.

"I'm back!" Saki said over the phone on the desk. They'd had their phones on speaker mode for the last half hour or so he could listen in on the scary stories, even from the security office where he was currently sitting with L-Elf. "What'd you think of that one? I didn't think Yamada would be such a good storyteller!"

"It was pretty good." Haruto admitted. "I got the chills there."

"Haru~to's scared of a sto~ry!" Saki teased lightly.

"Was not!" Haruto protested. "I just thought it hit a little close to home."

"Come again?"

"Secret experiments... making monsters... you know, kinda like us if you think about it..."

"Excuse me! Not like us at all!" Saki huffed. "For one thing, we're PRETTY, and not ghouls." She paused a moment. "Well, okay, Yamada's pretty ghoulish but he's more of a hulking ghoul than a mutilated ghoul. And second, we're in control of ourselves and not sitting around a room being emo."

_'Not all of us are in control of ourselves...'_

It wasn't a point to bring up with Saki though. Haruto nodded, although she couldn't see him. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I AM right," Saki said smugly. "Take it from me, I know all about ghouls and stuff!"

"Because that's how it works in movies?" Haruto teased.

"Exactly! I was right about how the Bodyjacking worked, wasn't I?"

"I guess I have to give you that one."

"Mmm-hmm." Saki's voice became more serious. "It was a nice beach party, and thanks to Shoko-san for throwing it. That girl's got her brain problems at times but at others she can be pretty useful. There's just one thing that could have made it better..."

"What's that?" Haruto asked, even though he had a good idea what she was going to say.

"You should have come! We could have built a sand castle together~"

"Sorry... It's just there's alot work to do here with the security stuff..."

"Right. Security, I understand." Saki's tone was frosty.

"It's just-" Haruto snuck a glance at L-Elf on the other side of the room. The Dorssian seemed to be engrossed in a tablet. He wasn't sure how L-Elf would take it if he overheard what Haruto was about to say. "It's just that I need to step up to the plate. We can't depend on L-Elf for everything, and if we want to really stand on our own as a nation, we need to take responsibility and actually do our jobs. For me, that means being the Minister of Defense. And that's more than just piloting Valvrave."

Saying it out loud like that, he could almost believe responsibility was the real reason why he was isolating himself from Saki and the others, and not the fact that the Kamitsuki attacks had returned.

_'It's a lie, but it can't all be bad if I'm helping make the Module more secure, right? As long as some good comes out of it...'_

He had to believe it was for something in the end. Because if it wasn't...

"No, really, Haruto. I do understand," Saki said. The sincerity in her voice made him feel even worse. "Just don't work yourself to death, okay?"

"Indestructible superhuman, remember?"

"Right," Saki replied. Haruto could hear more activity going on in the background of the call. "Well, they're starting to pack up here. I guess I'll talk to you later?"

"Later!"

The call ended. Haruto stared at the phone for a moment before tucking it into his pocket.

"Tokishima Haruto." L-Elf was standing over him.

"What's up, L-Elf?" Haruto asked.

"I heard what you said."

"Sorry," Haruto winced. He knew that L-Elf had his own stake in the war, and that he needed Module 77 and the Valvraves to see his goals through. As much as possible, Haruto wanted to help L-Elf accomplish those goals, and he didn't want to give the wrong impression with his talk about not being able to depend on L-Elf. "I don't mean that we should be trying to end our partnership or anything. I meant what I said about helping you save that girl. But I should take responsibility on my end as well. There'll be a day when this is over and we go our separate ways, and we need to prepare for that."

"No, that is the correct attitude to have," L-Elf said. "You're right that New JIOR will have to stand on its own as a nation, and it's good you've decided to take more responsibility."

"Oh. Uhm, thanks." Haruto scratched his head. He would rather L-Elf not have heard his lie at all, but at least the Dorssian wasn't offended.

"Since you've come to this decision," L-Elf continued, "there's some intelligence I should share with you. A-Drei and I have been negotiating with the Royalists, a Dorssian faction opposed to the current regime. Just a few days ago we agreed to assist one another."

_'Opposed to the current regime? So was that what L-Elf had meant by "liberating Dorssia?" He's after a coup?'_

Haruto tried to remember what he knew about Dorssian politics. They'd been ruled by a monarchy for centuries, until recently, just a few years ago, when both the reigning king and crown prince had perished in a shuttle accident. Rather than pass to the next in line, the Dorssia dynasty had been overthrown by the military; that had been when the current Chancellor, Amadeus, had come to power.

_'They're called the Royalists, so they want to restore the monarchy to power?'_

"What do they want from us?" Haruto asked.

"The Valvraves. Or more accurately, they want the Valvraves to participate in a joint military operation."

Haruto wasn't sure how to feel about the prospect. Defending the Module against aggression was all well and good, but these Royalists probably wanted the Valvraves to help them attack a Dorssian military target. If they did something like that, would they be any different than the Dorssians that had attacked the Module? "I'm not sure about helping them attack Dorssians that aren't actively threatening us," he admitted.

He was halfway expecting L-Elf to give him some kind of lecture about how in war one had to take the fight to the enemy, or that all Dorssians loyal to the current government constituted a threat, so he was surprised when the Dorssian instead stated simply, "they claim to know the location of Valvrave Unit Two."

"UNIT TWO?" Haruto bolted upright in his seat. If they could retrieve VVV II from the hands of the Dorssians, or whatever secret organization had it now... "Where?"

"They have not confirmed that information. Nevertheless, what preliminary intelligence they did share leads me to conclude it is onboard one of the Dorssian Spheres."

"Oh. But they've seen it, right? I mean like, one of their members?"

"They have not confirmed that either."

Haruto frowned. This was getting more suspicious by the second. "Which Valvraves do they want?"

"All of them," L-Elf replied. "And that's why I had you prepare the duty rosters for the next two weeks in advance. We will need all the firepower we can get against Unit Two and the Sphere's defense fleet."

"But we need someone to stay behind to defend the Module..." Haruto objected.

"The Royalists have volunteered to provide security while the Valvraves are away."

That did it. "What if this is another trap?" Haruto pointed out. "They won't tell us where Unit Two is. They won't even say for sure if they've seen it. What if they're just trying to get the Valvraves away from Module 77 and put their soldiers onboard to occupy it?"

L-Elf smiled faintly. "That's a valid analysis, Tokishima Haruto. And it may be a possibility. However, there are two pieces of information which contradict that. First, I have worked with the Royalists in the past and I believe they have more to gain from continued cooperation than betrayal. Second, they will provide us a hostage for the duration of the operation. Also, what information they HAVE shared seems to corroborate their claims. I can show it to you, if you like."

"It's okay, L-Elf." Haruto shook his head. "I trust your analysis."

"Still as sweet as ever," L-Elf said. "But it's good you doubted the goodwill of the Royalists, Tokishima Haruto. A Minister of Defense should be apprehensive of those who would be his allies."

"Are you trying to tell me not to trust you?" Haruto laughed. "It won't work."

"If you say so." L-Elf's gaze fell to Haruto's leftover youkan. "Are you going to finish that?"

"Nope. All yours." Haruto handed over the plate.

* * *

Elliott Halbach walked down the winding path across the high school campus with the other members of his crew. All around them denuded trees thrust their bare branches into the blue-black sky. He shot a quick glance backwards at the student minders tagging behind them at a discreet distance and scoffed a little.

_'Whoever says JIORans are peaceful is full of shit. Just look at those kids. They're toting some serious hardware! And they say we're all gun nuts in ARUS...'_

Not that he knew enough about firearms to identify the guns in question, but the minders, a boy and girl pair, both had a pistol holstered at the hip, along with some kind of rifle slung across their backs. The firearms were completely incongruous with their rather preppy school uniforms; the girl looked particularly odd with her pink skirt and bowtie.

The security on Module 77 was completely nuts; far beyond anything he'd seen in his ten years of international contract work. Not even the somewhat questionable employers he'd worked for in South America were this paranoid. Two heavily-armed students to herd around every group of workers? What were they expecting, for the contractors to turn out to be Dorssians in disguise?

_'Then again, can you really blame em? They get hounded all the way from the JIORan Sphere to the moon, and now that they're here they get attacked by some kind of militants? If I were them I'd want to be armed at all times too.'_

The students weren't exactly the best guards, to be quite honest. Back at the site at the corner of the campus where they were repairing one of the damaged buildings, their minders had broken out cell phones and started surfing the net. Still, as inattentive as they were, Elliott reflected, as they were herded back into the dorm where they were housed, was that he had no time to meet with his contact-whoever that was supposed to be, anyway.

On the surface, Elliott Halbach was the owner of Halbach Construction, a small construction company that did international contracting work. They were based in Calgary, Canada, but travelled all over ARUS doing and supervising jobs. They were moderately successful and did mostly small projects, the kind which flew beneath the radar of the larger construction corporations.

Under the surface, he was a smuggler.

It had started six years ago, during a downturn in business. Halbach Construction was at risk of going under, and one of their customers in Ecuador had suggested they mule some drugs back into Canada, hiding it among their construction equipment. Elliott had accepted, and since then smuggling had become a rather lucrative revenue stream. They transported everything from drugs to weapons to exotic animals-although Elliott drew the line at human trafficking. THAT was a pie he wanted no part of, no thanks.

Doing work in space like on Module 77 was out of their usual purview, but one of Elliott's contacts in the Canadian government had offered them a job; the rate was nearly three times what they usually charged, although the contact hadn't been up front with what they'd actually be smuggling. Just do their construction job as normal, he'd been told. There might not even be anything to smuggle in the end, but in the event no transport was needed they would still be paid. They just needed to be aboard the Module.

How could Elliott say no to that kind of deal? And he'd been assured that it wouldn't involve smuggling people, so that angle was covered.

So they'd been onboard Module 77 for two weeks, working with the incredibly paranoid New JIORans. They hadn't even been given any information for any contacts. He'd simply been told to be ready. And for two weeks, nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

And then today during breakfast he'd found a piece of paper sitting on the food tray he'd gotten in the cafeteria. "The meet is today" had been written on it.

So Elliott had been waiting all day. Since the note hadn't contained any other information, he'd assumed the contact would find him. But how was that going to work with their minders constantly being underfoot?

They were back at the dorm now. In front of the door was another armed student, a tall leanly muscular fellow who looked like he did sports.

 _'Just one?'_ It seemed a little odd. So far, all the student soldiers Elliott had seen were in pairs.

Evidently, the minders with his group had the same thought. The girl waved at the student in front of the dorm. "Hey, Takeo-senpai! Where's your partner?"

"Hey, Ema-san!" Takeo waved back. "Iona-san's in the bathroom. I think she ate something bad. She's been in there all day."

"Ah, that's a shame," the boy called out. "Dropping off!" He addressed the crew in English. "Take care, you guys!"

"Thanks, you too!" Elliott responded. Their two minders headed off on their own way, chatting with one another, as the crew started to file past the door guard.

"So what do you think about the trees?" the guard mumbled as Elliott drew close. "It's almost like winter's come early."

Elliott refrained from doing a double take. So the student was his contact? He'd been expecting maybe one of the other ARUS people on the Module. He stopped and gave the countersign he'd been given when he'd first taken this job. "It's a shame, I know. Hopefully it'll grow back soon."

He felt Takeo press something into his hand. It felt like some kind of capsule, and he quickly tucked it away into his pocket and continued into the dorm.

Later in the bathroom, Elliott had a closer look at the capsule he'd been handed. It turned out to be a plastic vial filled with a murky liquid, dark and mysterious.

What was it, he wondered? Some kind of new designer drug? A fuel source? Maybe something to do with the Valvraves? He hoped that was it. ARUS could certainly use technology like that in their cold war against Dorssia.

Well, whatever it was, he knew it wasn't any of his business. Elliott Halbach hadn't gotten to where he was now by asking unnecessary questions.

Chapter 11 End

* * *

**AN: Thanks to xchrispx and Christemo for beta reading!**

**Something I always felt was missing from the VVV series was the proper use of the Magius bodysnatching ability. I mean, here you have these aliens that can literally jump from body to body, Azazel-style (nobody's gonna get that), and we never actually see any Magius inhabit more than one body! Other than Mirko, I suppose, but then he's just in Amadeus for the rest of the series and there's no difference to if Amadeus had been introduced as a Magius instead of being bodyjacked by one. That's a particular aspect of the Magius that I want to explore more in depth.**

**The Dorssian Sleep Experiment that Akira references is a reference to a creepypasta called the Russian Sleep Experiment. For those that aren't familiar with it you can easily find it with a google search. It's a bit cheesy imho, but it's an interesting read.**

**Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12 - Sunroom

**Year 602 Before True Era: 660 years before the opening of Sakimori High**

_**Ulryk listened to the drizzle pattering off the roof and the windows behind him. Expensive windows, they were; large uncut sheets imported from Germany. They made a perfect backdrop for him in his seat, and many was the time he saw a guest's eyes widen at the sight of them-and the wealth and affluence they implied.** _

_**The effect of the windows was somewhat dampened on this rainy spring day, however. The overcast sky made it necessary to light his office with candles, and in any event the three men with him didn't seem the sort to be impressed so easily.** _

_**The man seated across the table from him was an older man. He had the look of a farmer, his face lined and browned by years of sun, his hands gnarled and hardened by a lifetime of labor. In contrast, Ulryk's own hands were white and plump, a fact he was proud of; his hands showed his success as a merchant, as a man who made his living by his wits rather than with his back.** _

_**Despite his decades of experience in the trade, however, the older man across the table still gave him pause. Ulryk had never met anyone quite like him before. The man had the appearance of a peasant, true. But he spoke clearly, enunciating his words carefully, almost like a nobleman. Many peasants sounded like they were speaking through a mouthful of porridge. Then there was his clothing. Expensively made, it was; a fine velvet doublet with exquisite patterns picked out in bright thread along collar and sleeves. The buttons down the front had the smooth sheen of real ivory.** _

_**The other two men were much easier to place. The tall long-faced youth with short cropped brown hair seated by the fireplace was clearly some kind of assistant. A clerk, perhaps. And the third, a bald squat keg-shaped individual with forearms and fists the size of smoked hams, was clearly a bodyguard; he remained standing by the door, keeping a keen watch whilst the other two sat.** _

_**If half the rumors Ulryk had heard about the man seated before were true, however, he shouldn't have needed the bodyguard. Sorcerer, they called him. Wizard. Daitya, the Mag of Pila.** _

_**"Why me?" He asked, when the supposed sorcerer had finished his request. "It's an interesting proposition, yes. But surely there are others who would serve better for this scheme? Licznerski has his depots up and down the Notec River, and old Leszek has more friends at court than I."** _

_**"Because you are more inclined to believe," Daitya said. "It's no secret that you held a certain interest in the occult in your youth. A man with your past can more easily understand what it is we offer for your assistance."** _

_**Ulryk sat back in his seat, steepling his fingers. "So what is it you offer? So far I have heard only requests. You want my trade depots to store your... whatever it is you want stored. My barges and wagons to transport your people. My coin to pay for your ventures. And you want my personal introduction to certain members of court. What do I receive in return for all this?"** _

_**"What is it you want?"** _

_**The open-endedness of the question slightly annoyed Ulryk. It was true that he had been interested in the occult as a younger man, but as he'd grown older he'd come to believe in more material things. And now here before him was a supposed sorcerer, asking him what he wanted. Just what could Daitya provide? More wealth? That was something he could obtain on his own, with no need to commit to some half-veiled scheme. The question was not meant seriously, he supposed, or meant to lead him on...** _

_**A question that vague deserved a like answer. "What do I want? The world, I suppose," he said, half-mocking-** _

_**-but Daitya turned, and Ulryk did not miss the significant look which passed between the old man and the younger man by the fireplace. Daitya turned back to him. "We can give you the world," he responded.** _

_**The squat bodyguard's ugly face was skeptical. "Him? The world?" He asked in a gruff voice.** _

_**"It can be done in a manner of speaking," Daitya addressed the bodyguard, then Ulryk once more. "Understand, though, this is not something which can be accomplished in a year, a decade, or even a lifetime. This is a labor whose fruits will be borne only after generations. But aid us now and I promise you we shall raise up your descendants to be kings over all the Earth."** _

_**Ulryk cocked an eyebrow. If this was an attempt at trickery, it was the most ambitious one he'd ever heard. "You want me to commit to an investment that won't pay off until after my death?" He asked.** _

_**Daitya shook his head. "Of course not! There will be practical benefits for you very soon." The old man's lips opened in a smile, revealing yellowed teeth. "Let's say a lordship before the end of the year. Will that suffice?"** _

_**"A lordship?" Ulryk considered. Truth be told, that was something he'd never thought possible in his lifetime. He himself was ignobly born, the third son of a logger who'd left home to find his fortune. He hadn't even been born with a surname; the one he proudly used these days was a fabrication, created years ago when he'd just started to come into his own as a merchant. To be actually counted amongst peerage...** _

_**"All over the country, men call you the Mag of Pila. I should think someone with such a reputation could deliver faster results," He counteroffered. "A lordship, yes. Before the end of summer."** _

_**Daitya laughed. "Thank you, but I'm afraid my reputation preceeds me. You will get your results, but your lordship requires some more time than that. Before the end of autumn."** _

_**"That is acceptable," Ulryk said.** _

_**"Well then!" Daitya rubbed his chin. "There's no time to waste. If you are to have your lordship before the end of autumn we must begin now. You are on familiar terms with the magistrate, I believe?"** _

_**"Magistrate Bozek? Yes."** _

_**"Invite the magistrate to dinner. Sometime within the week will do nicely," Daitya instructed.** _

_**"Very well." Ulryk paused. "I assume you'll also be there? And you'll... what, cast a spell on him?"** _

_**"Oh no, not I." Daitya smiled. "I have a REPUTATION, after all. A distingushed man such as your... future lordship should not be seen to associate with me." He gestured toward the squat bodyguard. "But Alo will come. And make certain the magistrate brings his family. Particularly his children."** _

_**"His children?" Ulryk frowned. "You're not going to hurt his children..."** _

_**"No, we won't harm the children," the bodyguard, Alo, reassured him. "They're just the first step."** _

_**Ulryk shook his head. "I don't want to know any particulars. I'll invite the magistrate and his family, and from there it's up to you."** _

_**"Excellent." Daitya held out his hand for Ulryk to shake. "I look forward to our partnership, Ulryk Dorssia."** _

* * *

When Haruto entered the security room, L-Elf was seated at the table, fiddling with a small mound of machine parts and a small plastic tub filled with what looked like very shiny confetti.

Haruto took a seat across from the Dorssian, watching as the spy's hands deftly assembled a hollow canister the size of a tennis ball from some of the machine parts. With a small plastic scoop he packed it full of confetti, then attached a lid. That done, he set the canister aside and start on another. There were already about a dozen completed canisters standing in a neat row on the tabletop.

The more Haruto looked at it, the less sure he was that the shiny substance WAS confetti. "What's that stuff?" He asked, pointing to the bin of shiny maybe-confetti.

"Shredded aluminium foil," L-Elf answered, not looking up from his work.

"Uhm... why?" Haruto was confused. The canisters looked a little like those things that popped open and sprayed confetti, only made of metal. Was L-Elf going to throw a surprise party for someone? Why not just loot a party store and get some actual things that popped open and sprayed confetti?

_'I guess it's a military thing?'_

"Call it 'insurance,'" L-Elf said mysteriously. "You have something for me?"

"Yes," Haruto handed L-Elf a tablet. "That's the duty rosters for next week and the week after that."

"Good." L-Elf examined the rosters. "I think it's time for you to handle duty rosters on your own from now on."

Haruto gulped. "If you think so..." He'd been putting together duty rosters for a while now, but L-Elf had always looked them over and made minor tweaks and given his final approval. Without his guidance...

_'Part of standing on my own, right?'_

L-Elf finished another canister. "And your weight?"

"It's... uhm..." He'd measured it this morning, in the medical bay, and the results were unsettling. "I'm half a pound heavier than I was yesterday, so that means something, don't you think?"

"Half a pound variation over a day is irrelevant." L-Elf finally glanced up at him, although his hands continued to assemble more canisters. "Easily accounted for by differing fluid intake. The amount of youkan you've been eating should have produced a far more drastic increase in body mass. I must conclude that your transformation into a Kamitsuki has somehow locked your body composition to the moment you were transformed."

"But... that doesn't make any SENSE!" Haruto sputtered. "So where are the calories I've been eating going? Am I just... pooing it out? And what happens if I stopped eating? I'd HAVE to lose weight if I stopped eating, right?"

"Perhaps. It would make an interesting experiment," L-Elf said mildly.

"No, no... you don't..." Haruto pressed his temples with the heels of his hands. "This doesn't make any SENSE. We're like, violating the laws of physics here. This is like on the border of perpetual energy or something! It's not possible!"

L-Elf's fingers stopped moving. "I fought a man who could conjure up spheres of energy from thin air," he offered. "He melted his way through a solid bulkhead. That energy had to come from somewhere. Consider the Valvraves as well. They have more firepower than a battleship, yet it's been months and we haven't had to refuel or resupply them in any way."

"Okay, where does that energy come from?"

"I don't know," L-Elf deadpanned.

"Great." Haruto grimaced. Was L-Elf making a joke there? It was kinda hard to tell... "So what, it's magic?"

"That's what I thought as well." L-Elf said. "When I first woke up in the Valvrave cockpit with you and Rukino Saki, I thought I was losing my mind. But I believe there's a saying which goes 'any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.' We could call it magic because we don't understand the technology, yes. But it's still not magic in the sense that a princess can be transformed into a swan. There's an internal set of rules and limitations at work, and for now it's more important to learn those rules and limitations, rather than to understand how or why they work."

L-Elf paused, then gestured to the pile of cylinders. "And so: 'insurance.'"

* * *

Haruto left the security office behind him. Maybe L-Elf could sit there and accept the weirdness going on, but Haruto couldn't do so as easily.

_'There's basic laws of biology being violated here. I can't just ignore that!'_

He headed up to the cafeteria, momentarily forgetting about the curse and the possibility of having an attack in a public place. He was going to prove L-Elf and his theory about his body composition being locked or whatever wrong!

The cafeteria was serving rice with salmon and green beans, some kind of rehydrated military ration donated by ARUS. Haruto got three portions, sat down in a corner, and commenced stuffing his face. He gobbled down huge mouthfuls, barely bothering to chew before he swallowed. His stomach was roiling queasily by the time he finished, but he thought he could keep it down.

_'Now to weigh myself...'_

Where to do it though? He didn't trust the equipment down in the medical center-that was where he'd gotten the previous readings, after all. Where else could he find a scale?

_'Back in my room... but what about Saki?'_

He checked the time. 13:45. Saki had left him a message earlier, telling him that she'd be doing some song recording today in the afternoon. So if he went to their room quickly to use the scale, he shouldn't run into her.

* * *

"I know I'm a hero! In my life!"

Saki bobbed her head in time with the music as she sang, trying to fit the unfamiliar English syllables into the same amount of song.

"Let's all enjoy our amazing lives and have fun!"

She gave it a few beats, and then looked over to the window outside the 'recording booth.' The technician there gave her the 'okay' sign with his thumb and forefinger before returning to hovering over his equipment.

"Another take?" She asked in her admittedly poor English.

The technician smiled and shook his head no. The way the booth was set up, she couldn't hear anything he said, but he could hear what she said over her microphone.

_'Three takes... not bad. One song left to go!'_

As the technician started to set up his equipment to record the next song, Saki crossed the stark rectangular room to the corner where she'd put the pages of lyrics they'd given her. She picked it up and rifled through it, searching for the final song.

Today she was recording her very first English-language album. As Taylor had explained to her, it'd be much easier to break through to the ARUS market if her songs were in English or Spanish. Her English was pretty bad, but she spoke no Spanish at all, so English it was. Instead of write all new English songs, however, the studio had decided to simply translate her more popular existing Japanese songs into English and release them as an experimental album in ARUS to test the waters. Saki agreed with the marketing decision. After all, it should be easier to start singing words in another language to a familiar tune than to do entirely new songs with new tunes.

For a while, she and Taylor thought they'd run into a snag. Security protocol wouldn't allow her to leave the Module, and quality recording required some pretty sophisticated equipment. But then Taylor came up with the idea of converting a police interrogation room into a makeshift recording studio. He got a crew to knock out the one-way-mirror into the room and replace it with soundproof glass. They hung the walls with shaped foam panels, covered the floor with fluffy carpet to deaden echoes, and set up studio lights so it wasn't quite so gloomy.

The result was... well, Saki wouldn't exactly call it pretty or cute, certainly a far step down from the kind of environments she used to work in. But it was a functional recording studio. And there was an adventureous feel to the idea of reappropriating the interrogation room that she liked.

_'There it is. Soba Ni Iru Yo.'_

It was a slightly odd song, the first one she'd written herself. At least the lyrics; music was beyond her. Up to that point the songs she'd been given to perform was all happy-go-lucky junk about friendships and the joy of first love and stuff like that. Soba Ni Iru Yo was decidedly melancholic and wistful. Alice had campaigned long and hard for her, and in the end the execs had agreed to stick it at the end of her third album.

The studio execs had been pretty iffy on Soba Ni Iru Yo, but it turned out pretty popular. Critics hailed it as her first step towards 'serious' music, and the execs agreed to let her have one song per album after that. She'd written two more before her mother's-

Saki shook her head and looked at the lyrics. She hadn't paid much attention to the translations for the other songs; they were never really hers to begin with, after all. But since she'd been the one to write Soba Ni Iru Yo, she found herself more interested in what the translators did with it.

The translators had not only done an English rendering, but also rendered the English text phonetically in Hiragana under each line. It was nice of them to do that, but unnecessary; Saki's English was good enough that she could read the English words.

"Ah, the two of us set out walking together. You're not alone. So bright, forever. My heart..."

She froze.

When she originally wrote the song, she'd just written down 'my heart' in romanji. English letters, done. But here the translator had rendered 'my heart' phonetically in Hiragana as まい はると.

_'Mai Haruto.'_

A wave of emotions rushed through her. She'd been such a sad, lonely girl three years ago when she wrote that song, despite the success of her musical career. All she wanted then was someone to walk together with...

...and then she found Haruto. And for a while it seemed like neither of them would be alone anymore. But now they'd grown apart again. When was the last time she laid eyes on his face? As far as she could remember, it was just after the Blackout.

_'Three and a half weeks ago. Since then he's just been avoiding me. It can't go on like this.'_

There was a tap on the glass. Saki looked up to see the technician hold up five fingers at her. Five seconds until recording started.

"No, sorry," Saki shook her head. "I need a moment. Taylor, could I talk to you?"

A moment later Taylor popped his head through the door. "What's up, kiddo? Need a drink?"

"I, uhm, I'm gonna have to take a rain check on this last one."

Taylor rubbed his chin. "Why's that?"

"Well..." Saki thought about it. She could try and feed him a lie about how Soba Ni Iru Yo was special to her because it was the first song she wrote herself and how she didn't feel the translation was up to her standards...

"I was just reminded of a personal issue," she said, deciding against lying. It didn't seem like a good idea to breach the trust between talent and agent. "I promise I'll finish up the recording tomorrow."

Taylor frowned. "I dunno about that, princess. We're supposed to have the recording done today. Post starts tomorrow, so come on, it'll be just another twenty, thirty minutes."

Saki thought about it for a moment. Production schedule was, well, production schedule. Going off it could screw up alot of things further down the line, like marketing and distribution. Maybe there was another option though. "What if I could get some students down here later to do the recording," she offered. "And we could finish up and send the file over before tomorrow?"

"Uhm," Taylor looked over at the window. "That setup's kinda expensive..."

"I promise they won't hurt anything," Saki said. "It's the same people who work on the Valvraves, so I'm sure they can figure out a recording setup."

"In that case I guess it's okay. You got my e-mail, hot stuff?"

"Sure do."

As Taylor went to the technician to explain the plan, Saki left the police station. As she made her way toward Sakimori Island, she dialed Haruto's number, intending to pin down his location so she could go meet up with him.

But when the call went through, it wasn't Haruto on the other end. "This is Tokishima Haruto's cell phone," a cold, familiar voice said.

"L-Elf?" Saki was surprised. "Lemmie talk to Haruto."

"He's not here right now."

Was it just her, or did L-Elf sound annoyed?

"Where is he?"

"He left in a hurry and I am not aware of his current location. He seemed upset over certain aspects of his Kamitsuki physiology."

"Oh." That didn't sound good. "Okay, thanks." Saki thought for a moment. "Will you let him know I called?"

"Of course."

Saki ended the call and dialed another number. There were ways of finding out where Haruto was.

The call went through, but there was only silence on the other end. "Hello?" Saki said after a few awkward seconds.

More silence. And then...

"H-hello," said a squeaky voice.

"Akira-chan, can I ask you a favor?"

"Un," Akira-chan grunted.

"Can you find Haruto on those cameras of yours?"

Silence again. Saki was starting to wonder if Akira-chan had hung up when the squeaky voice spoke again.

"T-teacher's dorms."

"Thanks, Akira-chan. I owe you one."

* * *

Soichi was checking over some calculations with Kitagawa-san in the lab when the door whooshed open.

The person striding through the door was small and slim: one of Pletnyov's assistants, the female grad student with the brown ponytail. Soichi hid a frown. What did Pletnyov want with them now?

_'He could have come in person, shown a little respect!'_

"What is it now?" He asked as the young woman hurried around the table. "We're already working on the Ideal adaptation, and..." He trailed off as he saw the look of fury on the assistant's face, and the red staining the collar of her lab coat.

"Hey, you're bleeding!" Kitagawa-san said, starting to rise from his chair.

The woman smashed her fist into Soichi's jaw.

Soichi tipped over in his chair and slammed hard into the ground. He shielded his face with a hand. "Don't! Don't!"

The woman didn't listen. She hauled him up by the front of his shirt with her left hand, her other hand clenching into a fist.

Kitagawa-san bulled into her from the side, knocking her away. Soichi scrambled away on all fours like a crab, still disoriented from the punch. The assistant and Kitagawa-san were struggling on the floor, and as Soichi watched, Kitagawa-san gained the upper hand, wrenching the woman's arm into a shoulder lock-

-and the woman's other hand, flailing, brushed against Kitagawa-san's face.

Kitagawa-san threw back his head and SCREAMED.

For an instant, Soichi thought the assistant had gotten Kitagawa-san in an eye. But no, both of the engineer's eyes were wide open, bulging grotesquely from their sockets. He jerked off to his feet, clutching at his head and still screaming. He crashed into a table, upending it and himself to the ground.

Laying on his back, Kitagawa-san went into convulsions, his hands and feet thrashing in a frantic beat against the tile floor.

"Kitagawa-san, wha-?" Was all Soichi got out before the woman was on him again. She pinned him down and began to hit him repeatedly in the face.

 _'Why?'_ He wanted to ask as her knuckles crashed into his left eye, leaving his vision a field of purple and green blurs. _'Why are you doing this?'_ He felt his nose break, blood running hot over his lips and chin in a sudden gush. _'What did I ever do to you?'_

"Prue!" A voice called out.

The beating stopped. Soichi curled up into a ball, struggling to breathe through the blood tricking down the back of his throat, darkness threatening to swallow him. Someone else was in the room: a frosty, curt male voice was speaking rapidly, and terse answers came from the female voice of his assailant. He tried to concentrate, but couldn't make out the words. He must have been hit too hard. Underneath the conversation were soft whimpers that he could only assume came from Kitagawa-san... or was it himself?

When more punches to the face didn't seem to be coming, Soichi cracked open a swollen eye and peered up. Pletnyov's assistant was speaking to a man he'd never seen before, a towering man with short blonde hair and an eyepatch. As if he felt Soichi's gaze, the blond man glanced at him with a cold blue eye, then pulled a cell phone out of a billowing sleeve and spoke into it, before putting a hand across the young woman's back and ushering her from the room.

_'But Prue... he said Prue. I'm sure of it.'_

It was the last thought Soichi had before the darkness claimed him.

* * *

"Prue!" Chamca called out.

The young woman straddling Professor Tokishima froze. Chamca roughly hauled her to her feet, pulling her away from the downed scientist, who was letting out faint whimpering sounds. A few feet away, Professor Kitagawa was still spasming, but the convulsions were growing weaker. He pushed Prue out to arm's length and pointed at Kitagawa's quivering form. "What did you do to him? A spell?"

"Temporarily scrambled his input/output carrier signal," Prue mumbled sullenly. "He'll be fine."

 _'No permanent harm then. Good.'_ Still, Kitagawa's condition made Chamca uneasy. Prue had been a technical cera, one responsible for system maintainence, and when first installed within a human host a few weeks ago he hadn't shown the ability to manifest the Light of Rune. But this application of his original function was unexpected...

Professor Tokishima stirred, and Chamca looked over to examine his condition. The man's face was a mess: his eyes were puffy, and his mustache matted red with blood from his nose. But he seemed to be conscious and breathing normally. With a small sigh, he took out his cell phone and dialed the command center.

"This is Colonel Cain Dressel. I need a medical response team in Sector 2. Research and Development room 9-4. Clear them on my authority."

Medics summoned, Chamca pushed Prue out of the room, out of the JIORans' earshot. Once in the hallway, he rounded on her, trying hard not to let his annoyance show too much. "What are you doing in Kaley's body? We provided you with a host weeks ago."

"That body doesn't have security clearance for this part of the facility," Prue grumbled, gingerly brushing at her right hand with the fingertips of her left. "This one does." Her knuckles were swollen and discolored. Bruised, Chamca suspected, perhaps even broken. Good. An object lesson about the frailties of human hosts.

"So you decided to take Hyana's assistant," Chamca said. "Even though Hyana has made it abundantly clear he intended to take her as his next host after he was done with Pletnyov? He's been grooming her for years now."

Prue scowled. "I thought we were allowed to take whatever hosts we wanted, as long as it didn't put us at risk of being exposed."

Chamca sighed. Although Prue was admitted before the Council as Magius, the reality was somewhat different. While the rest of them had spent the past seven centuries carving out a place for themselves on this planet, Prue had waited beneath the waves, still cera in all but name. She had little knowledge of the society the Magius had developed over time, the precise systems of behavior that kept them from coming into conflict with one another; the necessary measures to keep a species that couldn't reproduce itself from going extinct.

"There are caveats," he explained. "There are many of us who spend time preparing our prospective hosts before taking control of them. These hosts are a sizeable investment of time and energy, and it's an affront to another Magius to take a host they're actively raising. I believe in Kaley's case, Hyana paid her way through college and graduate school after arranging the death of her parents. He's been mentoring her as Pletnyov for nearly a decade."

"I see." Prue looked chagrined. "My apologies."

"We'll speak to Hyana together," Chamca said. Just then the medical team he'd called for rounded the corner, spotted Prue's obvious neck injury, and rushed up to her. "No, not her," he told them, pointing toward the open door of the lab where the JIORans had been working. "In there."

"Ah, but she's...?" The head medic looked between Prue and Chamca in confusion.

"I'm fine," Prue insisted.

With a final glance, the medic waved his team through the door. Chamca pulled Prue further down the hall so they wouldn't be overheard. "And there's more to passing among humans than just possessing one's body," He said, pulling Prue's bloodsoaked coat collar aside to look at her entry wound. As he expected, Prue had bitten down with all of her previous host's teeth, gouging away a layer of skin and leaving an ugly crescent gash, instead of the more easily concealed pair of punctures more experienced Magius left. "Do you know how I discovered you had taken control of Kaley?"

"You found my previous host?"

"No." Chamca wagged his finger at Prue. "You were seen by some of the pit crew. Outside of crisis situations, humans do not habitually wander around with bleeding open wounds, even if the wounds aren't life-threatening. So when the humans saw you they knew something was wrong. They're well-trained in this facility, so rather than confront you themselves, they alerted the security officer on duty, who in turn alerted me, Colonel Cain Dressel."

Prue nodded, slowly touching the wound in her neck. "Understood."

"And speaking of your previous host, where DID you leave him?"

"I locked him in the bathroom of my quarters."

"And what do you imagine would happen if someone discovered him there, with no memory of how he came to be on this Module?"

Prue was silent.

Down the hall, the medics were carrying Kitagawa out on a stretcher. "We're returning to Earth in two days. You're confined to quarters until then," Chamca said. "Professors Kitagawa and Tokishima will be coming with us to help with the refit of Unit Two. I don't want you anywhere near them. If they're on one side of the transport, you're on the other. If you had killed them or rendered them unable to communicate just now, you would have set us back by years, maybe decades. Do you understand?"

Resentment returned to Prue's voice. "I've been reading the materials you gave me. I know there's 24 billion humans on Earth and the Spheres. Why not just replace these two?"

Chamca held back a sigh. Before her experience with the JIORans, Prue's only contact with organic beings who were not Pradhana would have been slaves within the whole. And while those slaves were interchangeable because they had the same function, the humans weren't, a concept that it had taken the Magius several decades to fully understand. "These two humans are special," he explained. "As we each had our own role as cera, so too do the humans within their societies. These two, alone among those 24 billion, are the only ones who understand the old prayukti. We have waited seven hundred years for ones like them."

"You've waited this long, why would a little longer matter?"

"Because the Pradhana are out there somewhere," Chamca said, his voice lowering to a whisper despite himself. Even after so long... "We don't know where Earth is in relation to the old empire. They could show up a thousand years from now or tomorrow, and we need to be ready for them when they do arrive. Do you remember what happened after Daitya gave us her gift? What the Pradhana within the whole tried to do? We were lucky then, but do you think we could withstand the Pradhana without prayukti of our own?"

Prue wasn't done objecting, however. "But the humans didn't CREATE the prayukti they have now! They learned it from old prayukti, from the fragment. I would know, I was there with Pino! Why can't we use the fragment to teach more humans about prayukti, or learn about it ourselves?"

_'I suppose it's time to tell him.'_

"We don't have the fragment," Chamca said.

"What? Why?" Prue gasped.

"The JIORans hid it somewhere, and programmed the computers in their facilities to erase all technical records along with its location in case of invasion. None of the JIORan engineers we captured seems to know where it is, either. We could take Unit Two apart to reverse engineer it, but with the uncertainties concerning Module 77, it would be unwise to remove that Valvrave from the playing field. For the moment, Professors Kitagawa and Tokishima are our only means to harness the old prayukti. Until the situation with Module 77 is resolved, they must NOT come to harm."

"I understand," Prue said, still a bit sullenly.

"Good," Chamca nodded. "Once the harvesting of Module 77 is complete and we have the time to develop our own understanding of prayukti, our JIORan professors will have outlived their usefulness. And then, if you still feel you need satisfaction for what they did to Pino, you may kill them." He put his hand across Prue's host's back and began to guide her toward the medics. "Now let's get your host patched up. We'll need to return her to Hyana soon."

* * *

Haruto stared down at the scale's electronic display. 1.5 pounds heavier.

_'I did gain weight. L-Elf was wrong!'_

He let out a breath, feeling better now that he knew his body still functioned like a normal human's. Well, apart from the regeneration and the practical immortality, anyway.

_'But it's no wonder I weigh heavier since this morning, is it?'_

Haruto grimaced. With the huge meal he just ate, how could he not weigh heavier? He could feel the three portions sitting like rocks in his stomach. But weighing heavier wasn't the same thing as gaining weight, in the same way that putting a brick into a bag didn't mean the bag itself actually weighed any more.

_'The right way to measure it would be to eat more calories over several days, and then checking to see if the total weight has gone up more than the weight that would be added by the last meal-exactly the kind of thing L-Elf proposed.'_

Haruto felt a sinking feeling in his belly. Added to the huge meal he'd recently gobbled down... he staggered off the scale, dropped to his knees in front of the toilet, and retched violently, bringing up the food he'd eaten in a torrent of pink and green and white.

He rinsed out his mouth at the sink, then splashed some cold water over his face and looked into the mirror. The last time he'd been in this bathroom had been...

_'When this latest round of attacks first started.'_

Why was he freaking out so much over the fact that he couldn't gain weight? Haruto thought ruefully as he stared at his reflection. It was such a little thing compared to everything else, wasn't it? What was this to the attacks on the Module, or the fact thathe periodically lost control of his own body?

But it was more than not being able to get fat or build muscle. If his body composition couldn't change, it implied other things. He would never get taller. Never grow older. He would always stay a 17-year-old for... how long? Forever?

It was too much on top of everything else. Just when he thought he'd had a grasp on the whole monster thing, some entirely new facet of his existence appeared to bite him in the ass. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and left the bathroom.

 _'Where do I go,'_ he wondered as he walked down the hallway of the teachers' dorm building. _'Back down to L-Elf's security office?'_ He'd spent so much time cooped up there recently that-

"Haruto!"

His thoughts were interrupted as Saki's hand latched onto his arm.

* * *

Saki hurried through the main doors of the teachers' dorm building. She was breathing hard after running all the way back up to the Module's surface from the police station. Silently she cursed her cardiovascular system. She'd been running and training for months now, and she somehow still wasn't back where she was before coming to Sakimori! What was up with that?

_'Hopefully Haruto is still here... hopefully I didn't miss him...'_

There! Just ahead of her, Haruto turned the corner. He was slowly walking along, head down. He didn't even seem to notice her as she went up to him and grabbed his arm.

"Haruto!"

Haruto jerked, his gaze flying up to meet hers, his eyes distant. She'd missed the sight of those big blue eyes so much.

He stared at her for a moment, as if he didn't understand what he was seeing.

"Saki?" He asked vaguely. Then he blinked, his eyes focusing, something new coming into their azure depths. A faint flickering of... fear?

"Mmm-hmm," she said. The fear in his eyes pissed her off. Was he afraid of her? Why? Was that why he was avoiding her?

"Saki..." Haruto tried to pull his arm away, but she held fast. "You shouldn't be here, it's not-"

"I shouldn't be here?" Saki huffed, annoyed at his attitude. "Unless you've forgotten, I LIVE here! Along with you!"

Haruto winced. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that..."

Saki looked around. It wouldn't do to have this conversation just out in a hallway where anyone could come along. While it wasn't likely for students to be in the teachers' dorm, her relationship problems were definitely not something she wanted the likes of Kibukawa-sensei to overhear. "Never mind that," she said, dragging him along by the arm. "Come over here."

Just off the main entrance of the dorm building was a sunroom, where faculty could relax during breaks in their schedule, or companiably watch TV in the evenings when classes were over. Saki tugged Haruto over to the sliding door, pressed the panel at its side, shoved Haruto through as the portal opened, then followed him in.

As Haruto stumbled into the sunroom, Saki turned and flipped the latch on the door, locking it into place.

 _'Don't want Haruto trying to run away during our heart to heart.'_ It was admittedly paranoid of her, but she'd had just about enough of Haruto's disappearing act. It was time to set this marriage thing straight. If he was serious about it, this whole avoiding her thing had to stop.

And if he really didn't want to spend time with her... if her presence really was so abhorrant to him...

_'Then maybe we really should call the whole thing off.'_

* * *

The sunroom was a simple affair. There was a cream-colored carpet underfoot, a table by one wall, and a pink sofa opposite a holo display. A pair of dead houseplants bracketed the window opposite the entrance.

Haruto looked back at Saki, who finished fiddling at the door and turned to face him. She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at him. "What's the deal, Haruto? Why are you avoiding me?"

"I'm... sorry, I've been busy-"

"Don't give me that!" Saki interrupted. "At first I thought it really was about that, you were way too busy with the security stuff. But what you said when you saw me just now, 'you shouldn't be here?' You didn't mean 'here, in the teachers' dorm,' did you? What was up with that?"

Haruto hesitated, another lie on the tip of his tongue. But what then? Even if he succeeded in convincing her of whatever excuse he came up with, eventually it would just cause more problems. And if she knew that the attacks had returned, she'd want to stay away from him too, right?

_'But at the shrine, when I attacked her, she could have hit me out of it, but she never did. What if she...'_

He met Saki's gaze. Her purple eyes, so full of hurt, made the choice for him. He owed her the truth.

"Saki, the truth is..." he said softly. "The attacks have started again."

Saki's eyes widened. "Oh..." she breathed.

"Yeah," Haruto agreed, swallowing hard against the sudden tightening in his chest. "That's... that's why, I..." He seemed to have trouble getting the words out. "I..."

"Haruto?" Saki started forward, hand outstretched.

The tightness in his chest was suddenly crushing, and Haruto doubled over. Another attack, he realized, as if talking about it made it happen. "Saki..." He gritted out. "Hit... hit me..."

She started to approach him, her fist clenched. Good. But just before reaching him, she stopped, biting her lip hard, her delicate features locked in agonized indecision. Why was she just standing there? Red and black shadows ate at the edges of his vision, threatening to engulf him.

_'If she won't do it...'_

Haruto bulled forward, shoving Saki aside as he went for the door. Behind him he heard her cry out and thump to the carpet, but he didn't have time to worry about that now. He slapped the wall panel, waited for the door to open-

-and all too late, realized that Saki must have locked the door. He fumbled at the latch with stiff, unresponsive fingers...

...but before he could get the door open, the shadows swallowed him.

* * *

Saki yelped as she landed on her butt. The carpet was too soft for the fall to hurt much, but it still stunned her enough that she just sat there staring as Haruto turned away from the door, his red eyes bracketed by a web of burning crimson slashes.

_'Why? Why didn't I hit him? Why didn't I stop him?'_

Haruto bared his teeth at her, growling. She couldn't tear her eyes away from his canines, white and elongated. And sharp. So very sharp. What was she doing? She could still stop him now. Just get up and slap him, kick him, anything!

Instead she sat there frozen, a deer in the headlights. The first time this occured, she hadn't understood what was happening until he was already on top of her. In her. This time was different. This time she knew exactly what was going to happen if she didn't stop Haruto. The rational part of her was telling her very loudly that she had to move, had to act. It was something else that kept her there, deep down inside, the nasty little wriggling voice that had eaten at her as long as she could remember, the voice she'd worked so hard to silence for so long.

 _'This is what you wanted, wasn't it?'_ It seemed to whisper as Haruto flung himself on top of her, seizing her arms. He was incredibly strong in his frenzy.

 _'All those nights huddled under the blankets with the e-book, dreaming of what you read. Dreaming of your precious prince with his dark gift.'_ Saki's shirt tore apart in Haruto's hands, her bra following a moment later, leaving a stinging lash of pain on her back where the strap cut into her skin, and a matching spot between her breasts where Haruto's fingernails gouged into her flesh.

 _'Now he's here, just like you always wanted.'_ Haruto thrust into her and she whimpered. It didn't hurt nearly as much as the first time, but she was bone dry, without even virginal blood to lubricate her. As Haruto began to move he scraped away mercilessly at her inner walls. It felt like he was scouring her raw.

 _'You've always wished for this. This curse.'_ She intertwined her fingers with Haruto's, trying to force some sense of intimacy, anything to help her ignore the pain.

 _'This is exactly what you deserve. Not comfort. Not happiness. Only punishment.'_ Saki could almost feel her mother's hot breath on her cheek, stinking of cheap booze. Her soft, poison-sweet whispers in her ear. Haruto's face hovered inches above her own, no trace of recognition in his burning eyes.

 _'This is what you deserve for being a bad girl. A bad daughter.'_ Haruto's thrusting picked up speed, slamming into her brutally as he growled and grunted like an animal. A few seconds later she felt him spurt into her, a hot liquid gush that left her feeling queasy. For a while, his thrusting slowed, and she thought it was finished-

-but then the tempo sped up again. Saki squeezed her eyes shut, trying to endure. She felt the hot tracks of tears trickling down her cheeks.

_'Just let it be over. Please. Just let it end.'_

But it didn't. Not for a long time.

* * *

Akira was halfway through a chocolate pudding cup when the alert came up on Little Witch's console.

With a mutter, she put down her spoon. The tracking program she was working on had a subroutine to send her alerts if it detected potential violence. A nifty concept in theory, but in practice it just looked for extended rapid movements. That would be fine if it was monitoring a store or a bank or an office building. But when applied to the school environment of Sakimori it was forever throwing false positives. Students playing sports or running on the track field would set it off, as well as the martial training classes that Thunder held. Early on she told the program to stop alerting her for the cameras in those areas, but it hadn't helped much, because any random student that got it through their head to run through the school halls could set it off. Hell, one time she got an alert from the school's basement, only to see Shoko-chan and a few other students shattering plates against a wall.

_'And I still have no idea what was going on there!'_

Between that and the fact that she still couldn't get the program to tell individuals wearing the Sakimori uniforms apart, she was about ready to dump the whole thing.

_'Probably another false positive. But I guess I should check it anyway.'_

Akira's finger hovered over the alert window. It was probably something silly like people playing catch.

But no. According to the header, the alert was from a camera in the teachers' dorm building. Right where she'd sent Rukino-san a few minutes ago.

_'Are Rukino-san and Tokishima-san having a quarrel? And it got violent? Can't be. Tokishima-san, at least, seems so even-tempered.'_

Or were they being attacked? Akira quickly pressed the button to check the feed, starting to reach for her cell to text L-Elf.

"Uwaah!" She exclaimed involuntarily.

On the screen, Tokishima-san was atop Rukino-san on the floor, and there was no mistaking those rythmic motions of his lower body.

 _'Uwaaah! They're having sex!'_ Akira found herself uncharacteristically embarrassed by her voyerism. Watching students who were strangers doing it was one thing, but when it came to the other pilots, the closest thing she had to a social circle at the moment... well, that felt completely different. She wondered if she should respect the twos' privacy by closing the feed.

 _'They're totally going at it too...'_ She could feel herself blushing. The fact that she knew the two made the act weirdly intimate to her, far more than all the other sex acts she'd spied students performing, as well as the porn she'd seen. Idly she imagined what it would be like to have someone on top of her, inside her, their bodies and fingers intertwined like Rukino-san and Tokishima-san's were...

It wasn't the first time she'd imagined something like that. But this time for some reason, the face of the phantom man in her imagination was Thunder's. Her mouth quirked. Why Thunder? Sure, she found him interesting, but geez, his face couldn't be called hot at all. Sometimes he looked downright sinister. Well, except when he laughed...

"Come on!" She grunted, chiding her imagination. Maybe someone else, like that actor Matsuda Touta... In her mind's eye Thunder's face was gradually replaced by the short-haired, boyishly handsome features of the movie star. Yeeaaaah. Much better.

 _'Enough of that,'_ she thought after a few moments. _'I'll give the lovers some privacy...'_

As Akira moved to shut off the feed, Rukino-san shifted position slightly, bringing her face into view. Akira's fingers paused just centimeters from the X button at the top of the popup window.

_'What the heck is THAT?'_

She squinted down at the display. The resolution wasn't all that great, but she could make out enough to see that Rukino-san's cheeks were wet with tears. And from the scrunched look of pain on the younger girl's face, they weren't tears of happiness.

Shock made the half-full pudding cup slip from her fingers. Just what was going on?

* * *

Haruto opened his eyes.

Immediately there came the familiar disorientation. What had he been doing? He was... he quickly looked around.

He was lying on his side on a carpeted floor in an unfamiliar room, the soft fluff tickly against his bare ribcage. Sunroom. In the teachers' dorm. How'd he get here?

_'Saki pulled me in here. Because... she wanted to talk. And then... I...'_

Haruto sat upright abruptly. "Saki?" He looking around the room frantically. "Saki?"

There was no response.

"Saki?" He asked again, getting unsteadily to his feet and checking the other side of the couch, just to make sure she wasn't collapsed on the floor where he couldn't see.

She wasn't there either. Haruto was the only one in the sunroom.

Hope fluttered in his heart. If Saki wasn't here, then maybe she'd gotten away! Before he'd...

Even before the thought had finished forming, Haruto knew it wasn't the case. He'd torn his pants again, and a certain part of his anatomy felt noticeably colder than the rest of his skin.

He looked down at himself nervously. Wet and glistening.

_'At least there's no blood like last time...'_

But where did Saki go? Had she left as soon as it was over?

What had he expected? Haruto thought as he struggled to tug his pants into some semblence of order. There was no reason for her to stick around. And it would be better for everyone if he stayed well away from them. His belt was busted, but maybe he could hold his pants together with his hands long enough to get back to his room to change-

The door whooshed open.

Haruto yelped, grabbing the nearest thing to hand-a sofa cushion-and thrusting it in front of his naked crotch. He did a double take at the person walking through the door.

"Saki?"

Saki swept into the room dressed in a casual white blouse and blue skirt, holding a thick bundle of clothes. Without preamble, she plopped the clothes on the sofa next to him.

Haruto did another double take back from the clothes to Saki. "Saki, are you-"

"I didn't know what you'd want to wear," Saki interrupted him, her voice cheery. "So I just grabbed some things out of your dresser. You should cover up."

"Wha? I..." Shocked into obedience, Haruto picked up a random pair of pants from the pile and started to pull them on. Of all the reactions he might have expected Saki to have, this wasn't one of them.

_'She's acting like nothing happened?'_

Saki had turned away while he dressed, but as the rustling of clothing stopped, she turned back to him, smiling. "I'm gonna go back to the room and take a shower. You should probably take one too, and if you don't wanna wait for me to get done you could take one next door."

Haruto stared hard at Saki's face. Her hair was disheveled, strands hanging loose from the left side of her normally neat plait. There was a faint black smudge under one eye where running mascara had been rubbed away, and while her smile was wide and glittering, it didn't reach her eyes. Her purple eyes were empty, and looked strangely old. Even though she was looking in his direction, her gaze seemed to go right through him.

Without waiting for a response, Saki gathered up the unused clothing and started towards the door. Habit made Haruto reach for her arm. "Saki, wait-"

With a sharp intake of breath, Saki jerked away from his touch, the bundle of clothes falling to the carpet.

"I'm sorry!" Haruto exclaimed, jumping back as well. "I-I just want to apologize..."

"Not now." Saki was hugging herself, her hands shaking. She sounded so tired. "Just... I need some time, alright?"

Unable to think of anything to say, Haruto could only nod.

Saki left the room without another glance at the clothing she'd dropped, as if she'd forgotten about them. After standing there for a moment, Haruto bent and started to pick them up.

* * *

Saki was taking a shower after being raped again.

There was some part of her that found the situation darkly amusing, a part of her that threatened to bubble up into hysterical laughter if she paid it too much attention, so she tried to ignore that and focus on the mechanical motions of washing herself.

There were some slight differences, to be sure. For one, she was taking this shower in her own bathroom, whereas last time she'd been in the public shower in the girls' dorms. And this time the slime coming out of her wasn't a dark pink; apparently her Kamitsuki healing ability hadn't restored her hymen, a small blessing she was thankful for. If she had to go through that every time-

 _'Every time?'_ Why was she thinking of letting this happen again?

Saki gritted her teeth. Once had been a fluke. A horrifying experience, but still a singular event that could be adjusted to. Gotten past. But twice? Twice was a pattern.

And in patterns could be seen the future.

She hugged herself, cold despite the heat of the falling water. Was this a future she could handle? Live with? Having to deal with that whenever Haruto was taken over by the curse? Could she manage it? She honestly wasn't sure. Earlier it'd been all she could do to endure, and then she'd been barely able to put on some semblence of normalcy. And even that act had crumbled when Haruto touched her.

_'Maybe Mom was right all along. Did she know that something like this was going to happen? Is that why she arranged that... that... shoot? To get it out of the way?'_

Saki shook her head. Where had that come from? Of course her mother hadn't known. The woman could barely plan her activities a week in advance, much less foretell something as crazy as what happened on Module 77. The last shoot had been more of her self-destructive behavior, the act of a woman insane with jealousy...

But it had been more than the shoot, hadn't it? Soon after Saki's career took off and she started to live with Alice, her mother started leaving those messages on voicemail, hinting that Saki's popularity wouldn't last and the idol industry would chew her up and spit her out. As time went on and Saki's stardom continued to rise, the hints became rants, her mother predicting darkly that Saki's career would fail and she'd wind up in the porn industry before long, that her audience was only interested in her body and she'd find herself penniless and alone, out on the streets, a drug addict, and so on and so forth.

Alice had done her best to shield Saki from her mother's insanity, buying Saki new cell phones every few weeks. But her mother proved to be adept at finding Saki's new numbers. Alice believed that Saki's mother had hired private investigators to stalk her, had even gone to the studio to see about filing a restraining order against her mother. But the under-the-table arrangement the studio had made at the beginning of her career prevented that; Alice wasn't her legal guardian, after all. And they refused to call child services on the basis that any publicity about Saki's former home life would be bad for her professional image.

So Saki endured her mother's bile, much the same way she had done her entire childhood. It was easier in those days, when her smile graced the billboards and her voice topped the charts; she had something concrete to look at whenever the self-doubt ate at her, some measure of success she could at last use to leave her parents behind-

-but her mother had the last laugh after all. Without warning, the bottom fell out. Saki's career had crashed and she found herself packed away to Sakimori. Even Alice, who she thought of as a friend and a confidant as much as a manager, had abandoned her. And now half a year later, yet another one of her mother's dire predictions had come true. It wasn't porn, but here she was, using her body to sate Haruto's curse. And as much as she meant well by it, as much as she wanted to keep Haruto from suffering, as much as it linked them together, in the end it still meant that-

 _'Mom was right again...'_ Saki shivered, hugging herself harder, clutching her upper arms. She didn't notice when her fingernails gouged into her flesh hard enough to draw blood.

_'Mom is always right... She's right and I'm wrong. I'm a bad daughter...'_

Saki found herself huddled into a ball on the floor of the shower, hugging herself and trembling as water drenched her head. She was a terrible person, a failure, a horrible daughter. Her mother was right. Everything bad that happened to her was her own fault. She deserved all of this.

After all, what kind of daughter tried to steal her mother's spotlight?

* * *

He was such a coward.

Atonement? Redemption? Spend his life making up for what he did? Just pathetic excuses. Ways to rationalize being passive. Not taking action.

After the first time, Haruto had considered admitting to what he did. He'd be punished. Imprisoned, and it'd be no more than a monster like him deserved. But then he'd wussed out, seized on the idea that he could somehow atone for what his actions, like that was even possible.

_'And then the very same thing happened again!'_

Saki was the one to suffer the consequences of his inaction once again. How could he do that to her twice? He proposed to her thinking he would spend his life protecting her and keeping her from harm, but instead he just turned her into... into his...

He couldn't even finish the thought. He could never make things right. The only thing left for him now was punishment.

But he wouldn't be the only one to suffer punishment, would he? Initially he'd been afraid of Shoko denouncing him, and although that was no longer a concern now that he understood that he deserved Shoko's scorn, he'd be dragging Saki down with him.

_'If I tell everyone that I raped her... how will they look at her? And what'll happen to her career?'_

So in the end he STILL couldn't admit to what he'd done. Fine. He could still be punished. But how?

Imprisonment was probably the answer. A conventional jail cell wouldn't do though; Haruto would still have to sortie in VVV I if the Module came under attack, and having to get L-Elf to go to the prison and let him out during an alert would slow down their response time.

_'Confinement inside the Valvrave? Kind of like how Akira stays in in Little Witch?'_

That might work, but what if he-

"Hello! Earth to Haruto!" Takeo-senpai waved his hand in front of Haruto's face.

Haruto jerked. "Huh?"

"Are you listening?" Takeo-senpai pulled his hand back.

Haruto blinked rapidly as he looked around. Right. He was seated at a table in the cafeteria with Takeo-senpai, discussing the duty roster.

"Sorry, Takeo-senpai," he said sheepishly. "I guess I zoned out."

"Ah, no worries." Takeo-senpai pointed to a line on the tablet in front of them with a bandaged hand. "I was just saying that Kiyoi-chan should probably be put on third shift, here."

"Right..." Haruto scanned the tablet. But his vision didn't seem to want to focus: the cells of the spreadsheet document with everyone's name and duty times kept blurring together. He rubbed his eyes with his knuckles in annoyance.

"Not sleeping well?" Takeo-senpai asked. Without waiting for an answer, he nodded. "Me neither, actually... guess it's alot tougher on you though, Mister Defense Minister."

"You haven't been sleeping well, Senpai?" Haruto asked. He'd actually been sleeping just fine, but it would probably be better to allow Takeo-senpai his assumptions, so he didn't suspect anything...

"Yeah. Well, I guess I haven't." Takeo-senpai drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "I don't feel like I've been sleeping poorly, but I mean, memory lapses is a thing when you don't get enough sleep, right?"

"Memory lapses?" Haruto was suddenly fully focused. Had someone bodyjacked Takeo-senpai? "When was this?"

"Uh..." Takeo-senpai shrank back a little as Haruto leaned across the table toward him. "A couple of days ago. It started after lunch, I think. I was going to the bathroom or something... and then pretty much nothing until I woke up the next morning."

Haruto swallowed hard. Classic symptoms of bodyjacking. He'd had a similar experience when bodyjacked by Saki. "Sorry, Takeo-senpai, we're gonna have to resume this discussion later." He pushed the tablet towards the upperclassman, standing up as he did so. "And make sure you don't tell anyone else about this. It's a matter of Module security."

"Right," Takeo-senpai looked confused. "Should I put the defense force on alert? Or... what?" He trailed off as Haruto was already running out of the cafeteria.

As he ran, Haruto whipped out his cell phone and hit the speed dial.

"L-Elf?" He said as soon as the call clicked through. "We have a problem."

* * *

Rukino-san was the last to arrive in the hanger. By the time the door opened to admit her, the other four pilots, Otamaya-kun, Kibukawa-sensei, L-Elf, and A-Drei were already gathered.

Kyuma eyed the idol as she took her seat. Her long hair was damp and her usual white ribbon hair ornament was missing. Her slender fingertips as she put them on the tabletop were wrinkled and soggy.

"Had a nice shower?" Kyuma asked her.

"Yeah," Rukino-san replied curtly, giving him a glance that was just on this side of unfriendly. Kyuma shrugged mentally and turned away.

_'Guess she doesn't want to talk. I'd be grumpy too if my shower got interrupted by L-Elf.'_

"Alright! Took ya long enough to get here." Yamada put down his phone. "Let's get this show on the road!" While they were waiting for the room to fill, he'd been having a one-sided conversation with Akira-chan, him speaking aloud and then reading his cell to see her response. Kyuma had found the spectacle utterly bizarre.

"What's this about, L-Elf?" Kibukawa-sensei asked.

L-Elf inclined his head toward Haruto in response.

"I think someone bodyjacked Takeo-senpai," Haruto said. He quickly told them about Takeo-senpai's memory lapse.

"When you say 'someone,' I'm assuming you don't mean 'one of the pilots.'" A-Drei observed.

"For the record," L-Elf said. "None of you bodyjacked Takeo-senpai, right?"

One by one, the pilots shook their heads no. But Otamaya-kun slowly raised his hand.

Kyuma stared at Otamaya-kun in shock. Had the engineer used a Valvrave to turn himself into a Kamitsuki? But how, when the mechs were locked to their pilots?

"Eh? Otamaya-kun?" Haruto's head spun around so fast Kyuma thought he was gonna get whiplash. Out of the corner of his eye he saw an object appear in L-Elf's hand, and for a moment he was afraid it was a gun. But no, as he got a better look at it he realized it was a small metal cylinder.

"Sorry, I didn't mean I bodyjacked Takeo-senpai!" Otamaya-kun quickly lowered his hand. "I mean, uhm. I think... I was bodyjacked..."

"What? Why didn't you tell anyone?" Rukino-san demanded.

"I, uhm... I didn't... I thought it was one of you, so I didn't..." Otamaya-kun's face went bright red.

"Why do you believe you were bodyjacked, Otamaya Yusuke?" L-Elf asked.

"Well, I've got-" Otamaya-kun unwrapped a bandage from his hand to reveal a pair of scabs on his thumb.

Yamada whistled. "Them's Kamitsuki bite marks, alright." His phone beeped and he looked down. "Akira says she doesn't know if it's relevant, but she saw Otamaya getting in Unit One a couple days ago."

All eyes turned to Otamaya-kun again.

"I don't remember that..." He mumbled. "That must have been when I was bodyjacked..."

L-Elf rose. "We'll need to check Unit One for sabotage. Tokishima Haruto, Kibukawa Takumi, with me."

* * *

"They sure are taking their time..." Yamada observed, looking up towards the towering VVV I. L-Elf, Haruto, and Kibukawa-sensei had disappeared into its cockpit more than half an hour ago.

"Better that way," Kyuma said. "They don't know what they're looking for, so they're probably checking everything just in case."

"I'm sorry, you guys..." Otamaya-kun said miserably. "It's all my fault. If only I could remember..."

"Yeah, it IS all your fault," Rukino-san suddenly said viciously. "You should have come to one of us or L-Elf the moment you realized you'd been bitten!"

Kyuma was taken aback by the rage quivering in Rukino-san's voice. where did that come from?

"Sorry..." Otamaya-kun apologized. "I'll-I'll do that next time!"

"There better not BE a next time," Rukino-san's tone was acid. "Why didn't you tell someone THIS time?"

"S-sorry..." Otamaya-kun stammered, withering before Rukino-san's anger. "I, uhm, I thought, I mean, I was hoping that-that, it'd be you, Ruki. I mean, like, if you, ah, bit me... I didn't wanna ask and, uh, find out it was somebody else..."

This explanation seemed to enrage Rukino-san even more. "Hoping I bit you? Talk about gross and pathetic. And what gives YOU the right to call me Ruki, anyway?"

Otamaya-kun seemed to scrunch down into himself. "Sorry, I-I won't be so presumptious in the future. Ru-Rukino-san!"

 _'I gotta stop this,'_ Kyuma thought. But before he could open his mouth, Yamada came to Otamaya-kun's defense.

"What crawled up your ass and died?" Yamada growled. "Otamaya knows he fucked up, so how bout ya lay off him, ya singing bitch?"

"What are you, his daddy?" Rukino-san didn't back down. "This doesn't involve you, so fuck off."

"No. His bro." Yamada said. "And I don't give a rat's ass if you ARE famous. You don't talk to-"

He was interrupted by his phone beeping. Yamada grunted and made a face, pulling out his phone. He glanced at it, his brow furrowing. He looked over at Little Witch, back to his phone, and then back to Rukino-san.

"Well?" Rukino-san crossed her arms.

"Tch." Yamada grabbed Otamaya-kun by the upper arm. "Let's go hang over here, man." He pulled the otaku toward Nobu Lightning, further down the line of Valvraves.

Rukino-san stared after them, scowling. Kyuma was trying to figure out if he should say something to her when VVV I's hatch opened and Haruto, Kibukawa-sensei, and L-Elf descended the zipline, one at a time.

"Find anything?" Kyuma asked.

"Nothing," Haruto muttered sourly as he sent the zipline back up to Kibukawa-sensei. "We went over every inch in there. Took apart the chair and the console. Nothing!"

Otamaya-kun returned when he saw the three emerge from the cockpit. "I'll get people working on it day and night," he promised. "Until we find what they... I... did in there. Haruto-kun, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Otamaya-kun." Haruto assured him. "It's hard to guard against bodyjacking. I should know."

Rukino-san stiffened and stalked away.

"Saki, wait!" Haruto took a few steps after her, then seemed to think twice, stopping in his tracks.

L-Elf touched down on the hanger floor. "The inspection of Valvrave Unit One will have to wait, Tokishima Haruto. A mobilization of engineers to that task may alert the infiltrator. Our first priority is to root them out."

"How do we do that?" Kyuma asked. "It's probably that Dosi guy you and A-Drei fought during the Blackout. If they have the same powers as us... they could be anyone on the Module!"

"Indeed." L-Elf thought for a moment, then spoke again. "Listen carefully, everyone. This is what we're going to do..."

CHAPTER 12 END

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to xchrispx and Christemo for beta reading!**

**I DID say way back in the Chapter 1 Author's Note that things were gonna get DARK. But there's always a light at the end of the tunnel!**

**Thanks to everyone who's been reading this story! I honestly couldn't have done it with you, cause you're the ones who keep me writing. Love you all!**

**Soba Ni Iru Yo is the second ED song, and IRL it's not actually a Haruka Tomatsu (Saki's VA) song, but composed by Shiori with vocals and performance by ELISA. But I decided to give it to Saki in the fanfic, because the lyrics fit her so well! The English translation used here is by bambooxzx.**

**Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, despite the dark subject matter. Here's to seeing you in the next chapter!**


	13. Chapter 13 - Field Trip

Shoko's high heels clanked hollowly as she went up the metal stairs into the transport.

Truth be told, Shoko was really starting to despise the formal outfit she'd adopted in her role as Prime Minister. The thing was way too stiff, the fabric chafed her skin, and the shoes hurt her feet when going up and down stairs or after standing around in them for too long.

_'Ugh, I'm only wearing these things because I thought there might be cameras...'_

A Prime Minister had to cultivate a certain air of professionalism, after all. But if it hadn't been for the possibility of photographers, Shoko would have gladly wore her school uniform onto the transport. Or even casual clothes; there would be plenty of time to change into formal clothing onboard for whatever photo op awaited her on the moon.

But then at the last moment Haruto sprang the new security protocol on her: none of the student body would be allowed anywhere near the docking bay to see them off. It was just Shoko herself, Inuzuka, Ninomiya, and Satomi-senpais, and Juto-kun. What a weird change!

What made it doubly weird was that Haruto told her of the security change in a text. Sure, seeing him face-to-face was a rarity these days, but at least he could have called her, right?

And when she texted him back to ask why the sudden change, he just replied it was a 'precautionary measure' and then stopped responding!

_'Well, I'm sure Haruto has his reasons for being secretive. I just have to trust him, that's all!'_

She climbed onboard the transport, Inuzuka-senpai, Ninomiya-senpai, Satomi-senpai, and Juto-kun filing in behind her. It was a passanger transport, with rows of seats flanking a central aisle. Ninomiya-senpai and Satomi-senpai were uncharacteristically quiet, almost sulking. On their way down to the docking bay, Shoko had noticed them going out of their way to avoid each others' gazes...

_'Did they have a fight or something? If things don't improve between Ninomiya-senpai and Satomi-senpai by the time we get back from the moon, I should try and cheer them up.'_

Even Inuzuka-senpai seemed subdued. By contrast, Juto-kun was being loud and boisterous, chatting it up with Inuzuka-senpai... or at least trying to. For every four or five sentences out of Juto-kun's mouth, he got back a one sentence response from Inuzuka-senpai. Was Inuzuka-senpai also on edge because of the weird security stuff?

And why was Juto-kun so talky? He wasn't exactly the world's most taciturn guy normally, but he was attentive, with an eye for detail... which was why she asked him to be the Minister of Transport. If anything, he should have been spooked by the security changes.

 _'Oh, get a grip, Shoko!'_ She told herself. _'It's probably just for our safety, keep people from knowing we're going out or something. Just trust Haruto, okay?'_

"Come on, guys," she chirped, trying to spread a little cheer. "Let's get our luggage stowed!"

The five student-turned ministers started to stow their luggage in the overhead compartments. Shoko closed the compartment door on her own rather small bag, then turned to look with bemusement at Inuzuka-senpai and Satomi-senpai. The two were struggling to boost Inuzuka-senpai's enormous wheeled suitcase into the compartment.

_'What's Inuzuka-senpai carrying in there?'_

"Need some help there, boys?" She offered.

"It's okay, we got it," Satomi-senpai declined. Seeing their trouble, Juto-kun came up to help them. Meanwhile, Ninomiya-senpai settled into one of the rear seats, immediately taking out her phone, pressing a button, scowling, then putting it away.

Shoko shrugged mentally. She didn't think she'd ever seen Satomi-senpai so gung-ho about helping someone with physical labor. While he definitely was a caring person who wanted things to run smoothly and people to get along, he was also the delegating type; seeing him straining to lift that suitcase was pretty weird. It was the kind of thing Marie-chan would probably take a picture of.

_'Should I take a picture of it for her? Since she couldn't be here to see us off?'_

She thought about it for a little too long. By the time she was taking out her phone, the boys were finished stowing their luggage. Shoko settled down to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

She checked her phone. No mistake, they were supposed to leave the Module five minutes ago. She debated speaking up. Maybe this was another one of Haruto's 'precautionary measures?'

The door leading to the cockpit slid open.

A slender man in his twenties came down the aisle. He was wearing a white suit and atop his light brown hair he wore a white cap. The pilot, Shoko presumed.

She called out to him as he got near. "Excuse me, sir! Is there a problem with the transport?"

"No, ma'am," the pilot replied. "The drive's not engaging, but it's probably not serious. I'll just go check-"

"You're not going anywhere," Satomi-senpai interrupted, quickly rising and blocking the way to the door.

Shoko stared at Satomi-senpai in confusion. _'What the heck's going on?'_

The pilot didn't seem to share her sense of confusion, however. He studied Satomi-senpai intently. "I see. So you know."

Shoko looked back and forth. There seemed to be a confrontation building. She could feel the hostility pouring off both parties. Just what was going on here?

_'Whatever it is, I need to stop it!'_

"Hey, guys!" She said brightly, putting herself between the pilot and Satomi-senpai. "Whatever the problem is, I'm sure we can work it out if we keep calm! Maybe if we sang a song together things wouldn't seem so bad!"

"I'm sorry about this, Shoko," Satomi-senpai said from behind her.

"Huh?" As she started to turn, there was a sudden pop, and a flash of white-hot pain in the back of her neck, like sparks shooting into her brain.

And then there was nothing.

* * *

_**"Indeed." L-Elf thought for a moment, then spoke again. "Listen carefully, everyone. This is what we're going to do..."** _

_**Haruto paid close attention to the Dorssian spy. Thankfully L-Elf had a plan. The prospect of an enemy Kamitsuki had him spooked, and he wasn't sure the students could handle this kind of situation.** _

_**"...we're going on a field trip," L-Elf finished.** _

_**There was a moment of silence.** _

_**"Hahahahaha!" Yamada started to laugh. "That's great, man!" He tried to slap L-Elf on the back, but L-Elf dodged his hand.** _

_**"Is it really the time to joke around?" Haruto grimaced. "This guy is out there right now! He could be anyone! Doing anything!"** _

_**"It wasn't a joke," L-Elf grumbled. "'Field trip' is the most fitting term."** _

_**Yamada's phone beeped and he glanced at it. "Akira says spill."** _

_**"There's no sure way for us to determine which student this Dosi is currently bodyjacking," L-Elf said conversationally, starting on his way back to the table. The others followed. Saki saw the movement from where she was standing near Carmilla and followed as well, although Haruto noticed she was very careful to not look at him.** _

_**"There is, unfortunately, no way we know of to test for a Kamitsuki's presence within a host," L-Elf continued as they took their seats. "And while we could theoretically take advantage of the fact that a Kamitsuki does not gain access to the memories of its host by testing the knowledge of the students for something only JIORan students would know, such a manuver would be clumsy and difficult to execute. Asking the students in a casual setting one by one runs the risk of missing Dosi, and any attempt to gather the students for a large-scale test would alert him to our suspicions."** _

_**"Makes sense," Otamaya-kun said. "So... what, we use a field trip as an excuse to get everyone together? And then test?"** _

_**"Not exactly," A-Drei put in, apparently catching onto whatever L-Elf had planned. "A field trip for all the students would get him suspicious too. When you're not sure where an enemy is, it's risky to launch an operation against them. But there's ways to make an enemy go where you want, by giving them what they want."** _

_**"You mean a trap," Kibukawa-sensei muttered. "Okay, what do we use as bait? What does he want?"** _

_**"I do not believe the objectives of Dosi's organization have changed significantly since our last encounter," L-Elf stated. "Including Cain Dressel's attacks, their objective has always been to obtain samples of Valvrave technology. Their last raid on the Module was focused on obtaining students... so I believe Dosi should be attracted to a similar bait."** _

_**Haruto had a bad feeling about this. "I don't suppose you mean us..."** _

_**"No, that would make the trap too obvious," L-Elf said. "Dosi must know of your status as pilots, and may balk at an attempt to use you as bait. The bait must be sweeter, and it must be tailored to suit him so he will be unable to refuse, even if he believes it is a trap."** _

_**"So enlighten us, O Wise L-Elf. What would that bait be?" Saki said sarcastically. "It's obviously something we dumb students couldn't possibly understand, so we would appreciate your expertise."** _

_**L-Elf didn't bat an eye at Saki's mocking tone. "Their last attack was a complete failure, at an operational level, but also at a personal level for Dosi. His objective was to shut down the Module's power grid, but he was defeated and the power was restored. He may not be Karlstein, but if he's anything like most intelligence agents, there will be injury to his pride as a professional." He met Saki's gaze. "I should think that kind of feeling is something you understand quite well."** _

_**Saki's jaw worked, and for a moment Haruto was afraid she was going to blow up at L-Elf. But she nodded grudgingly instead. "Yeah. I get that."** _

_**L-Elf nodded back. "Above all else, we have to give him something to salvage his pride. If he is emotionally invested, he will still fall into the trap, even if he knows logically it is there.** _

_**"And that would be...?" Haruto asked, even though he thought he knew.** _

_**"The leaders of New JIOR. Sashinami Shoko and key Ministers, as well as the means to remove them from the Module." L-Elf stared hard at Haruto. "Should Dosi capture her, several other ministers, and transportation, he could deliver them to his organization. They could be bodyjacked, returned to the Module, and give orders to disarm, paving the way for the Module's takeover."** _

_**Haruto swallowed hard. "I won't let you put Shoko in danger."** _

_**"You'll be there to protect her," L-Elf said. "Along with the other Kamitsuki minus Renbokoji Akira."** _

_**Inuzuka-senpai raised his hand. "I thought you said we couldn't be the bait..."** _

_**Yamada burst out laughing again. "You want us to bodyjack em, right? That's awesome! Thunder's in!"** _

_**"Correct," L-Elf said. "The goal will be to capture Dosi. The intelligence he can offer is more valuable than his elimination. We require a spare Kamitsuki, so to speak. Therefore Inuzuka Kyuma will be there in his own body, as Minister of Finance. Rukino Saki will bodyjack Ninomiya Takahi. Yamadai Raizo will take Renbokoji Satomi. And Tokishima Haruto will take Sh-"** _

_**"I won't attack Shoko," Haruto interrupted, crossing his arms.** _

_**L-Elf blinked. "She will be in more danger if she is allowed to act on her own volition... her erratic responses are difficult to predict, and there is the possibility she could put herself in a position of-"** _

_**"I don't care," Haruto interrupted again. "I won't allow it. Leave Shoko out of this."** _

_**"Tokishima-san, please," A-Drei spoke up. "Sashinami-san is the lynchpin to this plan. She's the New JIORan head of state, but at the same time a non-combatant. There's no one else who'd make a big enough prize to gurantee Dosi falls for the trap."** _

_**Haruto ground his teeth. Was that true? Couldn't there be someone other than Shoko who fit the profile? He tried to think of other possibilities...** _

_**"We could explain the situation to her," L-Elf offered. "If we tell her about the Kamitsuki, she may volunteer to be-"** _

_**"NO!" Haruto yelled, slamming his hands onto the table and standing up. "No one's telling Shoko about the Kamitsuki!"** _

_**Everyone stared at him in surprise... everyone except L-Elf, who was scrutinizing him closely, and Saki, whose expression was so closed he couldn't read it.** _

_**"Sorry..." He mumbled, sitting back down. "I just don't want to endanger Shoko..."** _

_**Yamada's phone beeped. He looked at it, then announced, "Hey, Akira's got a suggestion. She says, 'I don't want to endanger Shoko either, and I don't want her to endanger herself. When she was in Little Witch with me, she was unconscious. What if we knocked her out?'"** _

_**Everyone looked to Haruto again.** _

_**"It would solve our problems," L-Elf said. "We'll need to shuffle the bodyjacking roles, but Sashinami Shoko's erratic behavior would not be a risk to herself or others. There would be no need to explain the Kamitsuki to her, nor any other abnormal events she might happen to see. I could do it my-"** _

_**"I'll do it," Haruto said quickly.** _

_**"You sure, Haruto? I could do it." Kyuma offered.** _

_**"I'm sure." Haruto responded.** _

_**There was another awkward silence, broken after a few seconds by A-Drei. "Okay, let's move on," he said. "We'll need another minister to be part of the entourage..."** _

_**As the others started to discuss what they'd heard of the plan, L-Elf leaned in close to Haruto. "I wonder about you, Tokishima Haruto," he said softly. "You refuse to bodyjack Sashinami Shoko, and you refuse to explain your present circumstances to her. And yet you are willing to violently render her unconscious."** _

_**Haruto stared silently back at L-Elf.** _

_**"Just who are you trying to protect? Sashinami Shoko? Or yourself?"** _

* * *

L-Elf's words sounded in Haruto's head as he touched the taser to Shoko's neck. Shoko's limp body crumpled forward, and the taser clattered to the floor as he grabbed her in Satomi-senpai's arms, easing her to the side and into one of the transport seats.

_'L-Elf was right. This has never been about protecting Shoko. It's always been about myself. I'm such a horrible person.'_

But there was no time for that now. The pilot, Dosi, was staring at him in confusion, trying to understand the situation. But that wouldn't last. Haruto stepped forward, putting Satomi-senpai's body between the enemy Kamitsuki and Shoko.

_'Where's L-Elf? He said he would show once I knocked Shoko out. But where is he? Is he watching on a camera somewhere?'_

ZWWIIPP! The muffled sound of a zipper.

Haruto's gaze snapped to the overhead luggage compartment where the sound had come from. _'No way.'_

The luggage compartment popped open, and L-Elf rolled out to land on the floor in a crouch just behind Dosi, cutting off his access to the cockpit. He was wearing a bandolier of those strange canisters Haruto had seen him building before, and his belt had several chrome-colored squares clipped to it. On one side of each of the squares was a round nozzle that looked a little like a speaker. He wore a pair of oversized wraparound sunglasses.

Haruto felt Satomi-senpai's eyes bulge out. L-Elf had been hidden in Inuzuka-senpai's luggage? When had he gotten in there? And had Inuzuka-senpai known?

Dosi seemed to be in a similar state of shock at L-Elf's sudden appearance, and simply stood there as L-Elf swept his foot toward his head in a roundhouse kick. The attack caught Dosi in the side of the head, knocking him sideways. He slammed into a row of seats on the opposite side of the aisle from Shoko, bounced off the armrests, and tumbled to the floor.

An eerie noise filled the transport. Mechanical and yet somehow sounding alive-the same sound Haruto had heard twice before, back in Carmilla's cockpit during their encounter with the Dorssian colonel Cain. L-Elf seemed to take no notice, approaching Dosi's downed form with a taser in hand-

-and leapt back, just as a wall of yellow crystals appeared between him and Dosi.

"Crap," Haruto heard Ninomiya-senpai's voice say from behind him. His refusal to bodyjack Shoko had meant he ended up with Satomi-senpai, and Yamada was now in Juto-kun. But Saki was still in Ninomiya-senpai's body, as originally planned. "That's not what we planned. Come on, we need to get Shoko-san out of here."

"You're not going anywhere," Dosi groaned, rising to his feet. The side of his face was reddened where L-Elf's boot had made contact. "Nobody's going anywhere." Another crystal wall appeared in front of the hatch they'd entered from. A handful of small grape-sized balls of golden light flared up around the Kamitsuki in their stolen bodies, boxing them in.

"I'll kill em, you hear me?" Dosi yelled at L-Elf.

Without missing a beat, L-Elf pulled a canister from his belt and threw it into the air.

The canister exploded with a soft whoomp as it struck the cabin ceiling, filling the air with tiny bits of flashing shredded aluminum. As if in response, the balls of golden light exploded into tiny airbursts as the cloud of aluminum swept over them.

Dosi's eyes bulged out in shock. Another cluster of hard light bombs appeared, this time near L-Elf... but they too popped almost as quickly as they appeared.

"What...? What?" Dosi's head swiveled back and forth, seemingly unable to understand the situation.

Haruto understood. The hard light bombs went off if something touched them... and with so much confetti in the air, that there was no time for them to form.

As Dosi stood gaping, L-Elf stepped up to the golden barrier between them. He unclipped one of the metal squares from his belt, pressed its round nozzle against the wall of glowing crystals, and thumbed a button on its side.

There was a thrum that Haruto felt buzz through Satomi-sensei's bones, then the wall of crystal shattered like glass.

"How?" Dosi gasped as bits of broken yellow crystal rained to the cabin floor.

"Sonic cavitation device," L-Elf replied, taking his eyes off Dosi as he returned the square to his belt.

With a scream, Dosi lunged for L-Elf, fangs flashing between his lips.

Faster than Haruto could believe, L-Elf smashed his fist into the underside of Dosi's jaw, snapping his mouth shut and throwing his head back. He planted a kick in Dosi's belly, doubling him over, and then chopped the infiltrator on the neck with the side of his hand.

Dosi dropped to the floor like a sack of bricks.

"JIORans! You're up!" L-Elf yelled, grabbing Dosi's arms and dragging his prone body into the aisle so they had more room. Dosi began to struggle, and Haruto and Yamada in Juto-kun's body leapt into action. Haruto grabbed Dosi's head and jerked it to the side, exposing his neck. Yamada sat on Dosi's legs.

Inuzuka-senpai knelt down by them. Dosi struggled more violently as he realized what was about to happen, but he wasn't going anywhere with three people pinning him down. "Nooooo! NOOOOO!" He shrieked as Inuzuka-senpai chomped down on his neck.

* * *

Kyuma's body flopped over, and Dosi's legs went limp. Raizo relaxed his grasp on them.

_'That went pretty smooth...'_

The pilot's body shuddered, and Raizo gripped his legs harder again. "Kyuma? That you in there?" He asked.

"Ugh... ow..." The pilot groaned. "Ow!"

"Senpai?" Haruto asked.

"Yeah, it's me. Leggo!"

"What's the password?" L-Elf asked, still holding the pilot's arms.

"Youkan," the pilot grumbled.

"It's him," L-Elf said, getting off the pilot's body. Raizo and Haruto in Satomi's body followed suit.

Kyuma sat up against the base of a chair, rubbing his jaw. "Geez, L-Elf. Did you have to hit him that hard? I think you broke his jaw here..."

"If I had broken his jaw, you wouldn't be speaking so easily," L-Elf said. "Can you stand?"

"Yeah. Ugh." Kyuma slowly and painfully got to his feet. "Remind me never to get in a fight with you, L-Elf."

Raizo picked up Kyuma's original body and levered it over his shoulder. It was heavier than he expected-Juto-kun's body was well-built, but nowhere near as strong as his own body was. Haruto went over to help Rukino with Shoko's unconscious body, and L-Elf went to break down the remaining barrier at the door. He looked over at the pilot. "Now that you're in that body, can you do any of that light show stuff?"

"Don't think so..." Kyuma groaned. "I feel kinda nauseous. Maybe this body has a concussion... Come on, I just wanna get out of him as soon as possible."

L-Elf had destroyed the barrier at the door, and they filed down the steps into the shuttle bay. A-Drei, Kibukawa-sensei, and Yusuke were there waiting for them.

L-Elf began to issue orders. "Rukino Saki and Tokishima Haruto, take Sashinami Shoko to the infirmary. Kibukawa Takumi, go with them. Use the cover story we devised. A-Drei, Inuzuka Kyuma, and Yamada Raizo-"

"It's Thunder, dammit!" Raizo growled. "Just cause I'm in a different body don't mean you get to call me different!"

"-will accompany me. We will bring Kyuma's original body to the cell block."

"What do I do?" Yusuke wanted to know, as A-Drei came over to help Raizo with Kyuma's body. Together they carried the body between them, an arm draped over each of their shoulders.

L-Elf considered the otaku for a moment. "Come with us."

"Alright!" Yusuke followed them out the door.

They made their way down towards the prison block, Kyuma in the pilot's body walking ahead, still cradling his head. Behind them came Raizo and A-Drei, Kyuma's body slung between them. And bringing up the rear were L-Elf and Yusuke.

"Akira-chan threw me a feed of the transport, and I saw that thing you did with the chaff grenade!" Yusuke gushed. "That was totally awesome! Just like one of my Japanese video games!"

"Chaff grenade?" L-Elf mused. "I suppose that is an accurate description..."

"Well, I mean, I didn't name it," Yusuke continued eagerly. "So, uh, you use em alot for the whole stealth espionage thing?"

"Stealth espionage?" L-Elf echoed. "No, I created these specifically to counter Dosi's abilities..."

"Oh." Now Yusuke seemed confused. "You don't use them to jam electronics?"

"Jam electronics? There seems to be a misunderstanding."

"Uh, you know... they have a short term disabling effect on local electronics, soliton radars, that sort of thing? Maybe a surveillance camera?"

"A surveillance camera? There was a camera inside the transport, and it wasn't disabled." Raizo glanced back to see L-Elf shake his head. "I don't believe what you're describing actually exists. Chaff is strips of metallic foil, yes, and what I packed into these canisters could be described as chaff. But it was used in previous centuries to defend atmospheric aircraft against radar detection systems. They became useless after the advent of modern active scanning systems."

"Oh," Yusuke said.

They continued in silence until they reached the prison. L-Elf opened one of the cell doors for them. Kyuma sat the pilot's body down on the bench and L-Elf cuffs his hands behind his back. Another pair of cuffs went around his ankles. A-Drei set about wrapping layers of duct tape around Dosi's fingers.

Raizo whistled. The cuffs weren't your run of the mill bracelets; these were some seriously heavy-duty shackles, linked by thick chains the width of his fingers. He got into position behind the pilot's body and L-Elf held out a gag toward him. It looked like something out of a bdsm porno, a big red ball with leather straps to hold it securely to the head.

_'Where did he get this? Did he loot a sex toy shop or something?'_

Kyuma made a face as Raizo took the gag. "I'm glad I'm not the one who has to wear this thing."

"He seems to speak an incantation before using his hard light abilties," A-Drei said, levering Kyuma's original body up in front of where the pilot was sitting on the bed. "The gag will prevent him from speaking or biting anyone. You ready?"

"Yup," Raizo said.

"Definitely," Kyuma said.

"Go!" A-Drei said, pushing Kyuma's body toward the pilot. The pilot lunged forward, sinking his fangs into Kyuma's neck, and as his body went lax, Raizo jerked his head back, stuffed the gag between his teeth, and buckled the leather straps behind his head, locking them in place with a small padlock and key.

Kyuma blinked, opening his eyes. A moment later, the pilot's body, restored to Dosi's control, buckled in Raizo's arms. Raizo let him go, and he toppled to the floor, looking around in confusion. A moment later, his rage-filled eyes locked onto L-Elf. "Mmmmmm! Mmmmmmmff!" He complained.

"What's the second password?" L-Elf asked Kyuma.

"Ham and egg breakfast," Kyuma said, standing up and rubbing his head. "That's better..." He eyed the pilot, who was squirming around. "Uh, what are you going to do with him?"

"We'll interrogate him later." L-Elf motioned for them to leave the cell. "First we need to get you out of those bodies and explain the cover story to them." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. "In the meantime I'll call for a security detail to watch the cell until we're ready."

* * *

"What do you mean we're not allowed in this part of the Module?" Marie asked Miyazato-san.

"Sorry, Nobi-san!" Miyazato-san shouldered her rifle apologetically. "Tokishima-san said we weren't supposed to let anyone near the shuttle bay..."

"But, Iona-chan, we're here to see Shoko and the others off!" Midori-chan said. "We just want to say bye, that's all..."

"Huh? The Prime Minister's going somewhere?" Miyazato-san seemed confused. "Like, leaving the Module?"

_'Did Miyazato-san not know about the trip? How could that be? Even if Shoko-chan wasn't supposed to tell anyone else, security should know what they're guarding!'_

_**"Hey, Marie-chan, wanna hear something totally awesome?" Shoko-chan asked, kicking her legs as she sat on the edge of the school roof.** _

_**Marie nodded.** _

_**"Tomorrow, me and some other ministers are gonna go to the moon! Isn't it great?"** _

_**Marie's chopsticks paused on their way to her mouth. "Aren't we supposed to stay on the Module? Just in case someone tries to kidnap us?"** _

_**"Mmm-hmm. But Haruto says it's okay in this case!" Shoko-chan answered. "He said he and L-Elf were negotiating with someone important in ARUS, a real bigwig in their congress, and now they want to meet on the moon!"** _

_**"Oh." Marie ate a morsel of sweet potato. "Who else is going?"** _

_**"Uhh, lessee..." Shoko-chan started to count on her fingers. "There's Satomi-senpai, Inuzuka-senpai, Ninomiya-senpai, oh, and Juto-kun!"** _

_**"Prime Minister, Cabinet, Finance, Foreign Affairs, and Transport. No room for a Minister of Internal Affairs?"** _

_**"Do you wanna come, Marie-chan? We can have a girls' night out on the moon! I could talk to Haruto and-"** _

_**"No, no, it's okay." Marie ate some more of her lunch. "Who's this ARUS bigwig you guys are talking to?"** _

_**"Well, uhm..." Shoko-chan suddenly looked crestfallen. "I'm actually not supposed to say. Haruto said something about 'plausible deniability,' whatever that means. Also I wasn't supposed to tell anyone we were going on a trip at all..."** _

_**Marie gave Shoko-chan a sideways glance. "That's no good, Shoko-chan! You're no good with secrets at all!"** _

_**"I know..." Shoko-chan mumbled, then perked up. "But hey! Think of it like this, now that I've told someone, I can resist the urge to tell anyone else! And a secret's much more fun when you share, right?"** _

_**Marie grunted. "Oh! So you put it on me?"** _

_**Shoko reached over and hugged Marie around the shoulder. "But Marie-chan is so good at keeping secrets! What's one more between friends?"** _

_**Marie had to smile. "Alright, Shoko-chan! I'll keep your secret!"** _

Marie looked over at Midori-chan, who was explaining to Miyazato-san. _'It's no good, Shoko-chan! I ended up telling Midori-chan too!'_

"No, sorry, I don't know anything about that," Miyazato-san said apologetically. "I just know that Takeo-senpai and I were supposed to keep people from going down to the shuttle bay. Isn't that right, Senpai?" She nodded over to her dark-haired partner, who nodded back.

 _'This really is odd. Why so much secrecy?'_ For the life of her, Marie couldn't figure out what was going on. She couldn't say she knew Tokishima Haruto especially well, but Shoko-chan was always full of good words about him, and he'd always come off as an open and friendly boy in all their interactions. It seemed like fighting in a war really changed people.

"Come on, Iona-chan. Pleeeeeeease?" Midori-chan begged, putting on her best sad puppy dog face, her eyes huge and pleading.

"Mmm...!" Miyazato-san looked to Takeo-senpai for help.

"Sorry, Midori-chan, Nobi-san," Takeo-senpai shook his head. "Orders are orders. If it were up to me I'd-"

His phone rang. "Sorry," he said to Marie and Midori-chan before answering it. "Hello? L-Elf? Yeah." He glanced back to Marie and Midori-chan quickly. "Yeah. Understood." Then he hung up.

"Was that for us?" Marie looked around. Was L-Elf watching them through a camera?

"No, it was for us," Takeo-senpai said. He looked over to Miyazato-san. "L-Elf wants us at the prison." He turned back to Marie and Midori-chan. "You guys can go down to the shuttle bay if you want."

Marie watched as the two members of the student defense force left.

"Weird," Midori-chan remarked.

* * *

Akira scanned the nested windows on her console. Haruto-san in Satomi's body and Rukino-san in Takahi's body were in the hospital room with their own bodies lying unconscious on cots. Next door, Shoko-chan was on another cot. L-Elf, A-Drei, Inuzuka, Otamaya, and Thunder in Juto's body were on their way to the hospital. The two defense force members summoned by L-Elf were nearly at the cell where Dosi sat bound hand and foot.

_'JUST AS PLANNED!'_

She sent a text to L-Elf letting him know all was well. The only thing left was getting the bodyjacked students to believe the cover story. And that should be the easy part.

There were a few others wandering around the underside of the Module: Another group of defense force members on their way up from the barracks, a solitary student checking a stockroom, and a pair of girls in the shuttle bay. But none of them were near the route between the hospital and the prison block.

She peered more closely at the shuttle bay feed. One of the girls was Nobi Marie, Shoko-chan's diminutive roommate, even smaller than Akira herself. The other was a green-haired girl from the Student Council, Akira couldn't remember her name.

_'What's with the picture-taking? Do they suspect something's up?'_

No, that wasn't it, she concluded after watching for a few more minutes. There wasn't any kind of systematic evidence collection going on. The two were taking random pictures, including ones of each other and selfies. From her previous observations, she knew Nobi liked her photography; it seemed like she'd also gotten the green-haired student council girl to adopt the hobby.

Sudden motion from the window showing Dosi's cell! Akira quickly glanced over.

Dosi was lying on the floor on his side. As Akira watched, he slowly brought his shackled hands under his legs, so that his arms were now in front of him.

Akira glanced at her phone. Was this activity dangerous? Should she report it to L-Elf?

Dosi sat up and pawed at the straps holding the ball gag in his mouth, but his fingers were bound together into useless mitts by the duct tape around them. Akira relaxed. There was no way the enemy Kamitsuki was gonna get his mouth free. No threat there.

The bodyjacked pilot tried the straps for a few more minutes, then gave up. His gaze wandered around the cell, then returned to the platform that served as the bed. He meticulously examined it from all angles.

 _'What's he planning now?'_ Out of the corner of her eye she could see from the camera feed in the hall that the two defense force members had arrived outside the cell.

Dosi finished his examination of the bed and went to the toilet. He made a search of that as well.

There were two pipes leading into the wall behind the toilet. Akira watched as Dosi slowly wedged his right forearm into the gap. She fingered her phone. What was he doing back there? Was he reaching for some screw or other piece of debris back there she couldn't see, something that would allow him to slice through his bonds? Or was he just checking his environment, to see if-

Dosi braced a foot against the wall and abruptly wrenched his arm sideways. A bend appeared in his forearm where none should be.

_'WHAT IN THE HELL?'_

Dosi was now working his arm back and forth, the break bending this way and that. Akira was too skeeved out to look away. She'd seen some shit on the internet, sure. But this was happening live!

_'What is he doing? Some kind of protest?'_

With a final wrench, the shattered bone of Dosi's forearm sliced through the skin, jutting obscenely from the flesh of his arm. He fell back, blood pouring from the gash to pool on the cement floor.

Akira finally pulled herself out of her revulsion to grab her phone and dial up L-Elf. "PRISONER!" She screamed into it. "SUICIDE!"

She ended the call and stared at the screen. Dosi was just lying on the floor, and a moment later the two defense force students, a boy and a girl, burst into the room. The girl's hands flew to her mouth, and she stood there, paralyzed. The boy knelt by Dosi, reaching out-

Dosi lunged suddenly, stabbing the broken bone of his arm into the defense force student's shoulder. The two tangled, flopping limply to the floor.

Akira felt the blood drain from her face.

_'No way. It has to be a bite, doesn't it? That was what the other Kamitsuki told me!'_

The two were just lying there. The girl defense force member was panicking, glancing back and forth between the two still bodies and the door.

The pilot's body jerked, then started thrashing back and forth wildly. The boy defense force member's eyes opened as well. The girl rushed to him, but he shook his head, pointing to the pilot. The girl turned, hesitantly approaching the spasming pilot.

"LOOK OUT!" Akira screamed out reflexively. The boy defense force member rose to his feet behind the girl and clubbed her over the head with the butt of his rifle, sending her crashing to the floor, unconscious. He then pointed the rifle at the still-thrashing pilot and blew the bound man's head apart with a spray of gunfire.

He grabbed both the downed girl's rifle and the pistol from the holster at her hip, and left the prison cell without a backward glance.

Akira fumbled for her phone with shaking fingers.

* * *

"Knockout gas?" Shoko gasped.

"Yeah..." Haruto mumbled, feeling even more guilty. Knocking out Shoko was bad enough, but having to lie to her afterwards...

"You, you gassed us?" Satomi-senpai had a hand to his throat, a horrified look on his face. "That's way too dangerous! We could have been killed!"

"This was L-Elf's idea, wasn't it?" Takahi-senpai accused. Without waiting for confirmation, she shook her head. "Just WHAT is it with Dorssians and gassing people?"

"Sorry..." Haruto mumbled again. The gas thing wasn't a particularly good cover story, he thought, but it was the best explanation they'd been able to come up with for why everyone was suffering from short-term memory loss.

_'But they're not taking it very well at all.'_

"That's way too dangerous!" Satomi-senpai repeated in agitation, his voice a few notches higher than normal. "People have to go to medical school to become anesthesiologists! And even then before they knock people out they have to know stuff like, BMI, and medications, and, and allergies! You could have seriously injured us! Or even killed us!" He grabbed his head. "You said that we got gassed in the shuttle, but I don't even REMEMBER going to the shuttle! That's retrograde amnesia! What if it gave me brain damage?"

"Satomi is right." Takahi-senpai agreed, crossing her arms. "This is way over the line, Tokishima-san! What made you think you had the right to do this to us?"

Haruto's eyes flicked to Shoko to gauge her reaction. Big mistake. Her green eyes were staring back at him, filled with hurt betrayal. He immediately looked aside again.

_'No matter how hard I try not to, all I do is hurt people...'_

"Now now," Inuzuka-senpai said placatingly. "The important thing is that we're all okay, right? And the mission was a success, we caught the, uhm, hostile. So let's look on the bright side!"

Haruto held back the urge to glare at Inuzuka-senpai. Since Senpai had been in his own body for the operation, and supposedly also knocked out, they'd decided to have him try and steer the perception of the other ministers towards acceptance. Since Saki and Yamada officially had nothing to do with the operation, they were waiting in a room down the hall.

But as it turned out, Inuzuka-senpai wasn't a particularly good liar.

_'I haven't said anything about the mission being successful yet!'_

"Yeah, the mission was a success just like you guessed, Senpai," Haruto said pointedly, hoping Inuzuka-senpai would get the hint. "It turns out the shuttle pilot was a Dorssian spy. I'm sorry that everyone was put into danger, but it was to help keep everyone safe!"

Satomi-senpai and Takahi-senpai exchanged a glance. "Our problem isn't that we were put into danger, Tokishima-san," Takahi-senpai said. "We've been in danger ever since this war started. The problem is that you didn't TELL us that you were putting us into danger!"

"That's right," Satomi-senpai said. "If you asked for our help, we would have given it! There wasn't any need for this subterfuge!"

"But if you think about it, would we have acted naturally if we knew there was a sting operation going on?" Inuzuka-senpai pointed out.

"Well..." Satomi-senpai shrugged.

"Acted naturally..." Shoko muttered. Haruto looked over at her again. The hurt look was gone from her face, replaced by a smallpuzzled frown. His eyes flicked downward to catch her fingers rubbing against the material of her dress.

_'Classic Shoko thinking posture. Not good.'_

But before Haruto could think of a way to distract her, Shoko finished thinking. "Hey..." she said slowly, "Inuzuka-senpai, what did you have in your suitcase?"

"My suitcase?" Inuzuka-senpai echoed.

"Yeah, I remember you had this really big suitcase. It was so heavy it took three people to get it up into the luggage compartment," Shoko said.

"Uh..." Inuzuka-senpai put his hand to his mouth. "Mmm... lemmie think..."

Haruto nearly groaned at Inuzuka-senpai's lame attempt to buy time.

_'Should I interrupt? It might seem even more suspicious if I try to change the subject...'_

"Sorry, I, uh, I don't really remember..." Inuzuka-senpai finished lamely.

"You don't remember what you packed, Senpai?"

"I think I was running late, so I started packing just before we were supposed to go... so I guess the gas made me forget what I packed or something."

"That's not like you, Inuzuka-san," Satomi was studying Inuzuak-senpai closely as well now. "You're usually so well-organized and punctual."

"Uhhh, well..." Inuzuak-senpai was sweating a little. "I try to be. Punctual, I mean. But sometimes, you know, it's hard..." He shot Haruto a glance.

Takahi-senpai followed his gaze. "Why are you looking at Tokishima-san?" She asked.

Shoko's head dipped in a barely perceptible nod. If Haruto wasn't so familiar with her mannerisms, he might not have caught it. It was a tiny version of the same nod she made when the pieces came together.

_'Oh, shit! She's figured it out!'_

"Don't worry about it, Inuzuka-senpai!" Shoko chirped, smiling brightly. "If you don't remember, you don't remember!"

Haruto blinked. Those were the completely opposite words from what he'd been expecting. He'd been expecting accusations, not this cheerfulness. And as Shoko turned her smile on him he understood. Shoko had indeed figured out that he and Inuzuka-senpai were hiding something. But rather than try and root out what that thing was, she was trying to help them hide it.

Because she trusted him that much. Even though by his own admission he'd gassed her into unconsciousness with poison gas, she still trusted him.

He felt like he was going to cry. He didn't deserve that trust. He was a monster, an inhuman thing that betrayed his friends. For a moment, he thought about just blurting it out, telling Shoko about everything that had happened to him. Everything he'd done. It was the right thing to do, he owed Shoko and her trust in him that much.

_'And it'll be so much easier to finally put it down...'_

The words were on the tip of his tongue. He opened his mouth.

"Shoko... I-"

His phone beeped, cutting him off. He blinked down at it in confusion. There was a text from Akira-chan.

 **RAINBOW:** THE PRISONER ESCAPED! COME QUICK!

Haruto lowered the phone in horror, all thoughts of confession leaving his mind. Inuzuka-senpai was similarly looking up from his own phone.

"Haruto? Is it something bad?" Shoko wanted to know.

"Yeah." Haruto got up, looking around. If Dosi was loose in the Module, there was no way he could risk the enemy Kamitsuki bodyjacking Shoko. But the hospital room should be safe. "Inuzuka-senpai and I are going out. You guys stay here. Lock the door behind us, don't leave until I come back for you."

"That bad?" Satomi-senpai gulped.

Haruto nodded at the nervous upperclassman as Inuzuka-senpai left the room. Haruto followed him to the door, but then had second thoughts. He turned back to Shoko. "If anyone comes by and says that I told them to come get you, don't let them in. Ask them for the password."

"What's the password?" Takahi-senpai asked.

Haruto directed his answer to Shoko. "Shoko. The cave?"

Shoko nodded. "Got it."

"And, Shoko..." Haruto considered another possibility, when dealing with an enemy body-snatcher. "Make sure you ask for the password, okay? No matter who it is. Even if it's me."

Shoko's brow furrowed. "Uhm, I don't really understand, but okay."

* * *

Mikhail and A-Drei hurried along the Module's corridors. Mikhail had his weapon at the ready, as A-Drei checked the screen of his phone for updates from Renbokoji Akira, who was watching Dosi's progress through the station's cameras.

"He's heading up on staircase O-44. Crossing into sector 8, Deck 27 through corridor D-53," A-Drei reported.

_'Moving toward the school, but taking roundabout routes to avoid being surrounded. We can't risk him reaching the student population. If he bodyjacks another student we may lose track of which body he's using. But he has a large enough lead on us that he'll reach Sakimori before us...'_

Mikhail turned to A-Drei. "We're going to Plan B."

* * *

_**Mikhail watched as the JIORans left the hanger one by one, leaving only him and A-Drei still seated at the table.** _

_**"Think they can pull it off?" A-Drei asked.** _

_**"I believe they can," Mikhail responded. "But it wouldn't hurt to prepare a backup plan in case things go wrong."** _

* * *

_**Dosi struggled through the darkened halls of the power station, feeling Pete Robinson's life drain away through the wound in his leg.** _

_**The presence of the Karlstein kids hadn't surprised him. What had been surprising was their ability to resist him, to even inflict significant injury to him. How could inferior humans do such a thing?** _

_**With any luck, the Dorssians were dead from the spell he'd used to blast through the bulkhead. Dead or too severely injured to come after him... but he couldn't depend on that. And he couldn't afford another fight with them in any case. Pete Robinson was dying, and nearly all his Runes were gone. He had another spell left in him, maybe two.** _

_**He turned a corner and there she was, unconscious and handcuffed to a wall fixture by one hand. His backup body for this operation: Akaishi Midori.** _

_**Dosi had targetted the girl after she identified his host body, returning to the Module dome to abduct her after he'd completed his preparations. Rendered unconscious by a quick-acting sedative, she'd been stashed in the bowels of the power station, just in case something went wrong.** _

_**And things had gone very, very wrong. How could he have known the humans would put up such a stiff resistance? He stopped next to the girl, leaning heavily on the wall, overcome by dizziness. He checked one of the pockets on his technician's overalls, hoping that the contents hadn't been damaged in the fight. Luckily, they hadn't. First came the keys; he fumbled with clumsy fingers and dropped them on the floor. But that they were close enough to Midori that she could pick them up had she been awake. Good enough. Next was...** _

_**Dosi withdrew a small cotton packet and opened it. Within was a small plastic blister pack. He opened and removed two small ampoules tipped with needles. In the darkness, he couldn't tell the color of the fluids within, but that was okay; he felt with his thumb at the bottom of the ampoules, detected the groove cut into the plastic of one that told him which the contents were.** _

_**He injected the ampoule's contents into Midori's neck, and she immediately began to stir as the counteragent went to work dispelling her chemically-induced sleep. He quickly injected the other ampoule into the arm of his host, into the muscle, not into the vein; the injection site would give him a few extra seconds before unconsciouseness in which to transfer into Midori.** _

_**His head was already swimming as he bent down and sank his fangs into Midori's neck.** _

_**And then she was Akaishi Midori, groggy and confused.** _

_**Dosi shook her head to get her bearings. The body of Pete Robinson lay prone at her feet, blood spreading in a pool from his leg. She bent down to pick up the key she'd dropped a moment ago. The wrist of her cuffed hand ached; she must have been hanging from it at a bad angle while unconscious.** _

_**She undid the handcuffs, then stuffed them and the key into one of Pete Robinson's pockets. If things went as planned they would be destroyed along with the rest of the evidence. Slipping and sliding in the growing puddle of blood, she took hold of one of Pete's arms and started to tug him away, silently cursing her current host. Midori's body was so pathetically weak... a high school student, sure, but would it be asking too much for kids to take up a competitive sport these days, so they were at least in shape for heavy lifting?** _

_**She managed to get him about 30 meters down the hall and around a turn before her body was exhausted. No matter, the corner was a good of a place as any to lay her trap. She arranged Pete's still body against the wall, then made her way farther down the hall, hoping that the shadows would hide her. She whispered a quick spell, and the Light of Rune kindled above Pete's body. She poured Midori's Runes into it, watched it grow fat and bloated before using another spell to shroud its presence. Midori was young, and the effort ate away half her reserves. It was more than she felt comfortable using, but anything less wouldn't gurantee the destruction of Pete's corpse.** _

_**Dosi settled down in the darkness to wait. After a while, she heard footsteps coming down the hall.** _

* * *

Of course it was a trap. Dosi had even seen it coming.

But the chance to make up for his earlier failure had been too sweet. He'd convinced himself that the JIORans had no way of knowing his true nature, that the snare had been set for a human opponent, and so he could evade it by taking control of the pilot after all the pilot's background checks were complete.

 _'I've gotten too complacent,'_ Dosi thought to himself as he hurried up a flight of stairs.

But then, could he really be blamed for that?

In all his centuries of life, all the time he'd spent passing himself as a human, Dosi had never been in a situation where he had to deal with enemies who knew what he was. There had been other close calls, to be sure. That friendly fire incident in Gusenburg when Dorssian intelligence caught him in the body of an ARUS spy. The time when he nearly died in childbirth and only survived by transferring into a midwife.

He'd come closer to death in both of those cases than the incident in the power station. But both times he had survived because the humans around him didn't understand his nature as a Magius. Now he was dealing with enemies who seemed to understand perfectly what he was.

Dosi had known it intellectually, of course. The literature concerning the imposters had been made available to him as a member of the Council, and he'd been present at the conference with the JIORan professor. But he'd always been more interested in the prospects of the immortal bodies of the imposters. The fact that they could also possess beings with electricity-based cognition had been a sidenote, and somehow he hadn't factored it completely into his plans.

He certainly hadn't anticipated that one of them would overwrite HIM. After the loss of the Whole, when there hadn't been enough human hosts to go around, overwriting had been necessary for survival. But since then the risk of diffusion breakdown had made the act so taboo amongst Magius that he hadn't even considered it as a possibility. It was for the same reason, he realized now, that he had avoided possessing one of the Valvrave pilots. Oh, sure, he'd told himself it was better to avoid the pilots, since they might anticipate and thus interrupt an attempt to possess one of them... but now that he thought about it, he had really been trying to avoid the profanity of overwriting one of them.

_'As if impostors like them should be respected enough to spared overwriting. As if they could be viewed as anywhere near equal to us Magius!'_

No, what he should have done was immediately taken a pilot and left the Module with their Valvrave. The Unit Six pilot would have been perfect; the girl was the most isolated member of the team, and Dosi had even been in temporary control of her brother. After killing Al-Afridi, he could have easily gained entry to Unit Six in the guise of Renbokoji Satomi, possessed her, and then returned her Valvrave to the Council with the brother as a side dish, to be used as a guinea pig for whatever the JIORan professor needed.

Instead Dosi had taken his time, moving among the students of the Module, never spending too long in one host lest others suspect something was wrong. He only took a few Runes from each host to avoid causing them noticeable memory problems, rather than sucking them dry like he needed. As a result of those self-imposed limitations it had taken far too long to rebuild the stores of Runes he'd expended in the fight against those Karlstein kids. He was still nowhere near top form.

He would not make the same mistake again.

He quickly transferred most of his host's Runes into his own stores. Unfortunately, he had already been in Koei Takeo previously, and there weren't as many Runes as he would have liked. But it would serve for now.

In any event, he couldn't risk another confrontation. The only reason he had managed to escape the cell was his enemies' lack of experience about how the possession process worked; they seemed to believe the only point of transference was the teeth. But now that he'd shown that trick, they would no doubt make sure to immobilize his entire body if he was captured again.

What he needed to do now was escape. Merge back into the JIORan population and bide his time, then arrange for transport off the Module once things cooled down.

Dosi continued to head upwards, toward the school, where he knew the students would be gathered.

* * *

_**"Our opponent is overly fond of retreating," Mikhail mused, his eyes closed. "During our previous encounter he made use of every opportunity to withdraw from engagements, only standing to fight when cornered. The moment he was wounded he fled, although he attempted to obsfucate us by disguising his retreat as an attack... and had he pressed that attack he most likely would have been victorious."** _

_**"Even his use of hard light barriers is a defensive tactic," A-Drei noted.** _

_**"Indeed." Mikhail opened his eyes. "I do not believe Dosi will alter his behavior significantly in future encounters. Should our trap fail, he will most likely retreat rather than press whatever advantage he has. The logical conclusion is that once we identify which person he is currently bodyjacking, his first priority will be to disappear into the student population again."** _

_**A-Drei pulled up a schematic of the Module on a pad and began to highlight routes on it. "I'll plan out a route from the hanger to the prison block, and the fastest paths from points on that route to the school."** _

_**"We must also assume that Dosi is just as knowledgeable about the Module's layout as us," Mikhail said. "He was familiar with the layout of the power station and there is no reason to assume he would not memorize the layout of the station and our security protocols over the past few weeks. If we merely pursued him, depending on how much of a head start he gains after the trap hypothetically fails, we may not be able to intercept him before he reached the school."** _

_**"So we'll need a backup for the backup plan?" A-Drei joked.** _

_**Mikhail thought a moment. "We'll use a variation of a plan I once used to take Tokishima Haruto by surprise."** _

_**"By surprise?" A-Drei laughed. "You mean when I took YOU by surprise and found you holding a gun to his head?"** _

_**Mikhail had to laugh as well. "You got the drop on me, alright. I had no inkling you were even on the Module. If Haruto wasn't on hand to use as a shield I would have been done for."** _

_**"I've been meaning to ask... You had him on his knees. Were you going to execute him?" A-Drei asked.** _

_**"No, I was merely telling him my theory that a Kamitsuki could be killed by a bullet to the brain." Mikhail shook his head. "Not that I had any real intention of testing that theory at the time. It's a good thing that Dosi doesn't exhibit the resilience that the JIORan Kamitsuki do."** _

_**"Do you think it'll come to killing Dosi?"** _

_**"I'd like to capture him alive if possible..." Mikhail had the urge to rub his ankle. "But should the plan fail, it may be necessary to kill him."** _

* * *

Dosi was about two dozen decks from the surface when the PA went off.

"This is a security alert," said a calm, steely voice he recognized as that of the Dorssian agent, L-Elf. "Remain calm. Students should report to the following locations based on their Student ID numbers. Senior class C0001 through C0141 report to the gymnasium. C0142 through C0516 report to the administration building, Room 17..."

_'He's breaking up the students into smaller groups, trying to limit my options!'_

Dosi paused in his stride, rage filling him as he understood what the Dorssian was doing. How dare a human attempt to herd him, a Magius? Humans were cattle to his kind, not the other way around! He tried to figure out what to do as L-Elf's voice continued to rattle off ID numbers and locations. What to do? Should he continue to head toward the school, or try to hole up somewhere and wait the security alert out? Sooner or later the students had to return to their normal activities...

It was L-Elf's instructions that solved his dilemma. "A0020 through A0042 to sector 6, Deck 22, Room 6-K."

Dosi closed his host's eyes and visualized the schematics of Module 77 he'd memorized. Sector 6 Deck 22 was very close to him, just a few minutes away. And more importantly, he knew from his earlier stint as Koei Takeo there was a duty station nearby on Deck 20, where a group of student defense members were stationed.

He also knew from his general interactions with the JIORans that the student IDs each started with a letter according to their graduation year. Class A was the current seniors, and most of the active defense members were drawn from the senior class, since they were the oldest and tended to be the largest and most physically capable.

_'This host, Koei Takeo, is a high-ranking member of the defense force, reporting directly to Defense Minister Tokishima Haruto. If I can intercept the defense force members moving from their Deck 20 duty station to Sector 6 Deck 22, I can take command of them using this host's authority.'_

Dosi changed directions, heading for a connecting stair toward Deck 20. Once he gained control over the defense force unit, more opportunities would open up. He wasn't about to let himself be corralled into L-Elf's plan.

_'We'll see who herds whom, human.'_

Dosi turned into a long doorless corridor. He was just starting down it when L-Elf stepped out from around the corner in front of him, 20 meters away.

* * *

Mikhail saw Koei Takeo's eyes go wide with shock as the bodyjacked student caught sight of him. The tall, dark-haired JIORan's shoulder and upper arm were red with blood, but the injury didn't seem to affect how he handled his rifle. Mikhail also made note of the pistol in the holster at Dosi's side.

Dosi immediately turned to run, but even as he turned, the heavy airlock doors at the end of the hall slid shut behind him with a loud clang, turning the corridor into a dead end. The only way out now for the enemy Kamitsuki was through Mikhail.

 _'Right on time, Renbokoji Akira.'_ He made a mental note to praise the girl. He had some understanding of her neurosis by now, and she seemed like she could use all the encouragement she could get.

Seeing he was trapped, Dosi turned back to face him, starting to shrug the rifle on its strap from his shoulder-but before he could even level it, Mikhail's own pistol was in his hand. He took quick aim and fired, the bullet hitting its mark and sending the rifle spinning from Dosi's grasp.

Dosi stared down at his empty hands, his fingers opening and closing as if he couldn't comprehend how his weapon disappeared. Mikhail pointed his pistol at the enemy Kamitsuki's head. "Surrender."

"No," Dosi replied. "If you're going to kill me, then do it." When Mikhail didn't fire immediately, a smile grew on Takeo's face. "You can't kill this body, can you? You wouldn't be able to justify it to the JIORans." The smile grew. "Seeing as how you're all the way over there... do those tinfoil grenades of yours reach this far?"

Takeo's lips continued to move silently even after he was done speaking, and the familiar pinpricks of golden light appeared, wreathing his body...

"You're right. My chaff grenades are unable to reach you. But you are unable to adapt to novel situations," Mikhail said lightly, pulling out his phone and hitting a number on the quickdial menu. "Only the one bag of tricks. It'll cost you."

There was the sound of a phone ringing from within the bulkhead to Mikhail's right, followed by a series of muffled whumps. Immediately after, strips of aluminum foil began to spew from the air vents along the wall, filling the corridor with silver flashes. Dosi's nascent hard light bombs burst into tiny puffs of golden sparks.

 _'I win again, Liselotte.'_ Mikhail thought to himself as Dosi's sneering smile crumpled into confusion and dawning horror.

"HOW?" Dosi screamed. "How did you-? You couldn't have rigged up the entire Module with those things! It's not possible! It would have taken too long by yourself, and if you had students working on it, I would have heard about it!"

"Only this hallway and three others are rigged in this way," Mikhail said. He didn't like to gloat to his enemies; it was unprofessional. But in this case he wanted to take Dosi alive if possible. Impressing Dosi on just how severely he'd been outwitted might lower his morale enough for him to surrender. "Your actions were all anticipated. The broadcast you heard was not Module-wide. It was only in your immediate vicinity, and it was designed to lure you here by making use of your knowledge of the Module's layout and security protocols."

"You anticipated..." Dosi's lips parted in a grimace. "Let's see you anticipate this!"

A wall of yellow crystal appeared in front of the bodysnatcher, twice as thick as the others Mikhail had seen Dosi create. With a loud snap, it split in half lengthwise, one side of it swinging out to form a V shape. The point of the V was flush against the right wall, cutting off the air vents and keeping aluminum strips from entering the crook of the V.

And within that protective gap, yellow orbs appeared.

_'The hard light wall protects the bombs from the chaff, as well as preventing me from shooting them. And there's not enough time for me to run down the hallway to use cavitation devices. When the bombs are ready, they will likely deploy through aperatures in the wall. It's quite a clever application of his abilities. At least, it would be if I hadn't anticipated it.'_

Mikhail stepped against the corridor wall. As they'd previously agreed, A-Drei stepped out from around the corner at the signal, levelling an anti-material rifle at Dosi. Mikhail saw Dosi throw himself to the ground just before A-Drei fired.

The .50 BMG round punched through both hard light walls, blowing meter-wide holes in them and detonating all the hard light bombs there, before making a sizeable dent in the airlock doors down the hallway. A-Drei worked the bolt on the rifle and fired again, completing the destruction of the barriers.

As the falling yellow shards shattered against the floor, Mikhail began to walk toward Dosi. The enemy Kamitsuki was lying facedown on the ground, his fingers laced over his head. As he heard Mikhail's footsteps, he looked up, stark terror showing on Koei Takeo's stolen face.

"Surrender," Mikhail said again, pointing his gun at Dosi's face. "No more tricks now."

Dosi grimaced, but nodded.

Mikhail was halfway to Dosi now. "Take the pistol out of your holster slowly and slide it over to me."

Dosi obeyed. The pistol slid to Mikhail's feet and he nudged it aside to the side of the hall, continuing to approach Dosi.

"Put your hands on the back of your head and lie face down," he ordered. The position was standard for neutralizing prisoners, so he gave the command without a second thought... but it was only as he was two meters away from Dosi that he realized the error he'd made.

"Turn your head to the side!" He shouted. "Show me your mouth!"

It was too late. Without waiting to see Dosi's response, Mikhail leapt back just as the floor where he was standing erupted in a fountain of burning golden light. He threw up a hand reflexively to protect his face, firing blindly into the torrent of energy.

_'He detonated hard light bombs under the floor, on the deck below us!'_

Mikhail backed against the wall and began to reload, clearing the line of fire for A-Drei. There was a roar from the anti-material rifle, but A-Drei was also firing blindly into the golden light. An anti-material rifle wasn't the best thing for cover fire, but it was on hand.

Their fire had been unnecessary. As the explosion faded away, Mikhail could see that Dosi was gone. A gaping hole in the floor yawned open, its edges twisted and melted. Cautiously, he made his way to the edge and peered in.

The hole went down two decks. Even as he looked down, there was the sound of another explosion, no doubt from Dosi blasting through another bulkhead somewhere. Cursing, Mikhail began to scan the smoking edges for the best way to climb down.

* * *

Marie and Midori-chan were deep in the Module's understructure, on their way back to Sakimori, when the sound of distant gunfire came rumbling through the halls.

"What was that!?" Midori-chan cried.

"We must be under attack again!" Marie exclaimed. "Come on, we need to get to battle stations!"

They started to run, Marie lagging behind Midori-chan because of her shorter legs. But they hadn't gone more than a few dozen meters when there was a sudden crash, much louder than the gunfire a moment ago.

 _'The Module's under fire? Who is it this time?'_ Marie ran faster, but Midori suddenly grabbed her hand, yanking her to a stop.

"What?" Marie stared up at Midori-chan.

The green-haired girl held a finger to her lips, looking up at the ceiling. "That wasn't someone shooting at us from space... that was right nearby, a few decks up, maybe!"

 _'It was?'_ As Marie followed Midori-chan's gaze, there was the sound of a second crash, this time on their deck. No doubt about it.

"Come on, we have to check it out! What if someone's hurt?" Midori-chan reoriented herself to the second explosion. "Uh, there's an intersection... that way!"

"Wait!" Marie tugged up the bottom of her oversized sweater, reaching for the hip band she had concealed under it. Her fingers closed around the butt of the snub-nosed concealed pistol she had there. A small gun for a small girl; most of the other firearms were too large for her to hold easily. "I'm armed, I'll go first!"

"You carry a concealed gun, Marie-chan?" Midori-chan fell into step behind her. "Wow, you think you know someone..."

"Can never be too careful..." Marie mumbled, leading the way toward the intersection Midori-chan had mentioned.

Just before they got there, however, someone turned the corner in front of them. Marie blinked at the figure. "Takeo-senpai?"

Indeed it was Takeo-senpai, and he didn't look good at all. His uniform was rumpled and askew, covered in dust. There was a blood-soaked hole in one of his shoulders, and he was limping slightly. The knees of his pants were torn, as if he'd fallen down on them. Bits of something metallic shone brightly in his dark hair.

_'Is that... tinsel?'_

"Akaishi-san, Nobi-san, thank goodness!" Takeo-senpai said upon seeing them. "We need to get out of here! There's boarders, they-" His eyes locked onto the gun clutched in Marie's hand. "Nobi-san, quick, gimmie your gun!"

Without a second thought, Marie flipped the gun around and handed it over. She wasn't terribly good with the thing, having only been to the range a few times. Takeo-senpai was a member of the Defense Force, hand-picked by L-Elf himself. He would definitely use the gun better than she could.

"Thanks," Takeo-senpai said, accepting the gun with one hand. He quickly checked the magazine, then casually reached out and snagged Midori-chan with his other hand, pulling her to him and pressing the gun to her head. The motion was so quick and unexpected that Marie could only stand there and stare in shock.

"Senpai!?" Midori-chan squealed. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry, but I need a hostage," Takeo-senpai said, starting to tug Midori-chan along. "We have to go now. MOVE!"

Marie found her voice. "WAIT!" She yelled. "If you want a hostage, take me instead!"

"You?" Takeo-senpai stopped and eyed her. "Why you?"

"I'm smaller. I'll be easier to carry."

"Huh." Takeo-senpai considered. "Okay, guess it's your lucky day, Akaishi-san." He shoved Midori-chan away and grabbed Marie, picking her up and tucking her under his arm. "You better not kick or anything," he warned.

"I won't," she promised as Takeo-senpai started to run again, leaving a wide-eyed Midori-chan staring after them.

 _'At least not until there's a confrontation,'_ she thought to herself. She had no idea what was going on, why Takeo-senpai was suddenly and inexplicitly hostile. But there was no way she could leave Midori-chan in danger. After all, if Midori-chan was shot, she'd be injured, maybe killed.

_'But I won't be. At least, I hope not.'_

It was time to see just how far her healing factor could go.

* * *

"Left!" Yamada barked out, reading from his cell phone.

Following Akira-chan's instructions, Haruto, Saki, Inuzuka-senpai, and Yamada turned left at the intersection.

"L-Elf and A-Drei caught up with him! They're right ahead down some stairs, and... shit, he's got a hostage!" Yamada exclaimed.

_'A hostage... damn, that just makes things more complicated!'_

True to Akira-chan's text, A-Drei and L-Elf were just ahead, staring down an intersection. They glanced over as the four pilots rushed down the stairs.

"Tokishima Haruto?" L-Elf said, his eyes wide. "What are you all doing here?"

"Akira sent us!" Yamada answered. "We're here to help!"

A-Drei visibly paled. "You're just giving him what he wants! Get out of here!"

"Is that your voice I hear, Haruto?" A familiar voice called from around the corner. "This is great! Come on over here, or I put a bullet in Shoko's little friend!"

Haruto swallowed hard. _'Akira said that Dosi bodyjacked a member of the Student Defense Force... but that voice... it's Takeo-senpai!'_

Helplessly, he rounded the corner, bringing himself into full view of the person down the hall. There was Takeo-senpai's familiar tall well-built figure, looking rumpled and tattered. But he was holding Marie-chan, his arm around her throat and a gun pressed to her temple.

"All of you, get over here!" Dosi demanded, Marie-chan wincing as the muzzle of the gun dug into her flesh. "Come on, I know I heard Raizo there. Who else is with you? Kyuma? Saki? The whole gang?"

The other Kamitsuki joined Haruto. Dosi's face lit up at the sight of Yamada. "Raizo! That's great! Just the one I was looking for. Come over here."

"That's Thunder to you, you piece of shit." Yamada growled, raising his fist. "Real men don't hide behind girls. You want a piece of me? You let her go, and then we'll do this thing, man to man. Or..." He bared his teeth, showing his fangs. "Kamitsuki to Kamitsuki. First bite wins."

"Yeah, I don't think so." Dosi shook Takeo-senpai's head. "This body's injured, and we both know even on the best of days Takeo's no match for you in a fistfight. So you come over here like a good boy, or Marie here dies."

"That's really brave of you," Marie-chan spoke up suddenly. "Hiding behind a girl half your size. I don't know what's up with you, Takeo-senpai, but..." Her face suddenly scrunched up. "You're not Takeo-senpai at all, are you? You don't sound like him at all. What are you?"

"Shut up." Dosi shook Marie-chan.

"Please don't antagonize him, Nobi Marie," L-Elf instructed.

"Why?" Marie went on, her tone mocking. "He knows he can't kill me. I think in ARUS they call this a 'Mexican Standoff.'" Her eyes swivelled up towards Dosi. "The moment you kill me, L-Elf kills you. So you might as well tell me, what are you? What's a 'Kamitsuki?'"

"I'm not a Kamitsuki, and shut up!" Dosi shook Marie-chan again, harder this time as he got more agitated.

"Marie-chan, please!" Haruto didn't understand why Marie-chan was provoking her captor like that. He made his voice as reasonable as possible, and addressed Dosi. "If we all just keep calm, we can get out of this!"

"Don't patronize me, you brat!" Dosi spat. "Don't you EVER presume to talk down to me! You think just because you got uplifted by some experiments you're equal to me? You're nothing! You're just a sad copy-AAAGH!"

Whatever the enemy Kamitsuki was about to say was cut off in a surprised yelp as Marie-chan suddenly ducked out of his grasp, taking advantage of his distraction to slip free. But rather than flee toward them as Haruto thought she would, she turned and made a grab for Dosi's gun. Haruto stared in shock as the towering senior struggled with the tiny girl, easily overpowering her and flinging her against the wall with his free hand.

Dosi pointed his gun at Marie-chan, but instead of stopping, Marie-chan pushed off the wall and went for Dosi again, grabbing onto the gun with both hands.

"Marie-chan! Stop!" Haruto screamed desperately. There was no way she could overpower Dosi in Takeo-senpai's body. But the girl didn't seem to hear.

As the two struggled over the gun, it suddenly went off. Marie-chan screamed, a splash of bright red appearing on the wall behind her, and she fell back against it, clutching her belly. Haruto could see a crimson flower blooming across the yellow material of the small girl's fuzzy sweater.

"YOU BASTARD!" Yamada screamed, charging down the hall toward Dosi. Saki followed a moment later, and Haruto took off as well after her. Behind them, he heard L-Elf yelling for them to stop, to clear the line of fire, but he was too enraged to listen.

_'He shot her! That bastard shot her!'_

He saw Dosi turning back, aiming the gun at them. Haruto didn't care. What was the gun going to do to him? Kill him? As if. All he cared about was making the bastard pay for what he did to Marie-chan-

-suddenly, the wounded Marie-chan leapt up from the wall again. Dosi was turned away from her, and this time she succeeded in wrenching the gun away from his grasp with blood-drenched fingers. Haruto could see the disbelief in Dosi's eyes as Marie-chan turned and hurled the gun towards them-

-and Yamada barreled into Dosi, knocking him off his feet. The two crashed to the floor in a tangle of limbs. Yamada grabbed for Dosi's arm and started to wrench it into a shoulder lock, but was forced to pull away as Dosi snapped at Yamada's hand, his fangs closing bare centimeters from Yamada's fingers. Yamada's retreat put him off-balance, and Dosi planted a foot in the orange-haired student's midsection, knocking him back.

But before Dosi could take advantage of his position, Saki kicked him in the face, sending him back down. She rained down kicks on his head and chest, but her offensive was cut short as Dosi caught her foot in his hands, yanked and twisted, and she fell heavily, aiming another kick on her way down but missing.

Haruto was still three feet away, close but not close enough. He watched in horror as Dosi pulled Saki's ankle toward his mouth, his jaws opening wide, fangs flashing as they descended toward her calf.

There was a sharp crack from behind him, and just before Dosi's fangs made contact with Saki's skin, his head jerked sideways. Haruto reached him, grabbed him by the neck and bodily yanked him off the floor-

-only to realize, as Takeo-senpai's head swung bonelessly on his neck, that he was holding a corpse.

with a yelp, he let go of the body, and Takeo-senpai fell to the floor, landing face up. His head rolled to the side, revealing a pair of wounds on his head: the small dark hole in his temple where the bullet had entered, and the larger exit wound opposite. Haruto turned in horror to see Inuzuka-senpai holding the gun Marie-chan had thrown to him, its muzzle still smoking.

"Takeo..." Inuzuka-senpai choked out, dropping the gun.

"Haruto, look!" Saki interrupted.

Haruto turned back. Saki was back up. At her feet, Takeo-senpai's body was glowing, a faint yellow luminence shining from his exposed flesh.

_'An explosion? Like that one that nearly got L-Elf during the Blackout?'_

"Everyone get back!" Haruto yelled. He and Saki retreated as Yamada picked Marie-chan up and hauled her down the hallway after them. They paused halfway on the way back to the Dorssian duo and looked back.

Takeo-senpai's body was glowing brighter now, the air above it shimmering with heat waves like pavement on a hot day back on Earth. As they watched, the skin on his face dried and tightened, shrivelling like old leather. The lips thinned and peeled away from the teeth, showing the elongated canines. Takeo-senpai's clothing abruptly burst into flame, burning with a bright smokeless fire, bits of charred cloth and ash rising on warm updrafts. A smell reached Haruto's nostrils, but rather than the smell of burning meat he might have expected, there was an arid, sterile odor, a smell that made him think of deserts baking under the sun.

Saki let out a squeal of alarm as the apparition suddenly shifted, the upper body flexing and the head jerking upward. Haruto took half a step back, fearful that the burning body was about to rise to its feet-but as the body settled back down into motionlessness, he understood.

_'It was involuntary. just the tendons in his neck tightening.'_

Bits of dried skin were flaking from Takeo-senpai's face now, rising into the air and breaking apart to soot. A few heartbeats later only the bones were left, shining as if they were made of gold. The vertebrae of the neck collapsed and disintegrated, leaving the skull to roll free.

The students and Dorssians looked on mutely as the yellow glow slowly faded from the remains, leaving behind a pile of ashes, a few partial leg and arm bones, and half a skull glaring at them balefully with empty eye sockets.

Gingerly, Yamada made his way to the fanged skull. He nudged it gently with the toe of his shoe, and it crumbled into a pile of dust.

"Wow," Marie-chan breathed.

"Marie-chan!" The small girl's vocalization reminded Haruto of what had happened a moment before. "Come on, we have to get Marie-chan to the infirmary!"

"No, I'm okay," Marie-chan said, edging away.

"Huh?" Haruto looked at the girl. The entire lower half of her sweater was colored red with blood, the liquid rapidly absorbed by the fluffy yellow fabric. "No, you're not! You've been shot!" He reached for her belly.

"No, really!" Marie-chan danced away from his hand. "I'm telling you, I'm okay!"

Haruto blinked. What was Marie-chan talking about? He'd clearly seen her get shot. And why was she trying to elude him?

_'She's acting like she wasn't hurt. Just... like... a...'_

"Marie-chan?" His hand dropped to his side. "You're a Kamitsuki?"

"There's that word again..." Marie-chan grumbled. "Kamitsuki? You mean like back in the old days when people thought they were touched by the moon and spoke in tongues and stuff?" She blinked. "Are you guys... like me?"

"Yeah, yeah, I think so," Haruto said, his mind spinning. How could Marie-chan be a Kamitsuki? He fought the urge to grab the small girl and shake her. "Marie-chan, did you go into a Valvrave?"

Marie-chan shook her head. "Nope. What do the Valvraves have to do with it? And what was going on with... That wasn't really Takeo-senpai, was it? That person didn't act like him at all!"

"No, no... that really was..." Haruto broke off, staring at the pile of ash that used to be a person. What happened to the body was so surreal that he hadn't been able to parse it, but now it was finally sinking in. "Takeo-senpai is dead."

_'And Inuzuka-senpai was the one that killed him!'_

He rounded on Inuzuka-senpai, gesturing to Takeo-senpai's remains. "Senpai! How could you?!"

"I... I thought..." Inuzuka-senpai rubbed his mouth. His eyes darted to the ashes, back to Haruto, then back to the ashes again, wide and panicked. "I... I didn't have a choice, okay? He was gonna bite Rukino-san!"

"But... but you killed..."

L-Elf had joined them by now, and he spoke up. "Inuzuka Kyuma is right. If Dosi took control of Rukino Saki, we might not be able to remove him. It would be best to view this as an acceptable loss."

"'Acceptable loss?'" Haruto stared at L-Elf in anger. "What happened to zero sacrifices? To saving everyone? We could have-"

"Oh, is that how it is, Haruto?" Saki interrupted, her voice loaded with bitterness. "It would've been okay for him to bodyjack me? Forever? That's not a sacrifice to you?"

"No, I didn't mean it that way-"

"No, of course you didn't." Saki glared at him, seething. "Just that it'd be okay for Saki to get fucked again. Cause that's what happens anyway, right?"

"Saki, please listen..." Haruto instinctively reached over to try and calm her down. Big mistake.

"Don't TOUCH me!" Saki screamed, slapping his hand away. "Don't touch me!"

"I'm sorry..." Haruto let his hand fall. He wanted to say something, anything to fix the situation, but so many things had happened, between Takeo-senpai's death, Marie-chan being a Kamitsuki, and now this. He just couldn't think straight.

The one thing he kept coming back to was that it all somehow must be his fault. If only he hadn't gotten into the Valvrave. If only he hadn't tried to get revenge on the Dorssians...

Saki was rubbing her hand where it had made contact with him. She'd stopped glaring, but now her gaze was vacant, as if she was listening to voices only she could hear. After a moment, she mumbled, "I'm done."

"Huh?" Haruto didn't understand.

"I'm done!" Saki said again, louder. She looked back to Haruto, her eyes filled with tears. "I can't do this anymore. I... we're done."

Without another word, she swept past him, past everyone else who was staring silently, around the corner, and was gone.

* * *

Takeo-senpai was dead.

That's what Shoko had heard from the official Defense Force report. Killed by an enemy infiltrator while defending the Module. According to the report there wasn't even a body to show; he'd been blown apart by a grenade.

The infiltrator, a man named Ross Poupet, had been a pilot from ARUS. His picture was now being widely circulated. Shoko recognized his photo as the same thin brown-haired pilot she'd seen in the transport. The prevailing theory among the students was that he was some kind of Dorssian agent.

_'A nice little story, isn't it? On the surface it makes sense...'_

But Shoko knew there was something else going on. For one thing, what happened in the transport was completely different from what Haruto and Inuzuka-senpai had told to Satomi and Takahi-senpais. She clearly remembered a confrontation between the pilot and Satomi-senpai. And at the time, Satomi-senpai seemed to be in the know.

_'There was Haruto's comment back in the hospital...'_

_**"Shoko. The cave?" Haruto asked, his blue eyes pleading, almost desperate.** _

And then there was that other part, the part where he made her promise to ask for the password no matter who came. Even if it was Haruto himself. Now why would he do that?

Clearly there was something Haruto was keeping hidden, something that he and Inuzuka-senpai as Valvrave pilots knew that the rest of them didn't. And he was willing to lie to keep that secret. Shoko didn't like that Haruto was lying to everyone, and more than that, she felt personally hurt by his decision to not share with her. But...

_'Can I really blame him? I'm no good with secrets after all, and Haruto must know that.'_

She'd already screwed up once by telling Marie-chan about the trip she and the other ministers were supposed to take. She hadn't been able to help it though. It had just slipped out!

Had her indiscretion contributed somehow to Takeo-senpai's death? Marie-chan hadn't returned to their room, so maybe there was something to that line of thought. She really didn't think so, but the possibility hovered in the back of her mind.

 _'I'll prove I can be trustworthy,'_ Shoko thought to herself. She would help Haruto keep that secret of his, come hell or high water. No matter what it was. Even if he was lying, she was sure Haruto had a good reason for it. It certainly had to be something that would help everyone stay safe.

_'Because that's the kind of person that Haruto is...'_

Shoko found her hand straying automatically to her side as she lay in her bunk. Her fingers bunched in the soothingly smooth material of her sheets.

_'But what could that secret of his be...?'_

The biggest clue had to be the password. What'd they'd promised in the cave was private, something no one else in the world could possibly know. So that made it a good password. It would prove whomever spoke it that they had indeed been sent by Haruto.

So then why make sure Haruto himself said the password? Wouldn't the Haruto at the door, by definition, be sent by Haruto? So under what circumstances would Haruto not be sent by Haruto?

"Of course!" Shoko exclaimed, sitting up straight on the bed. Unfortunately, in her excitement she forgot she was on the bottom bunk, and her head met the bottom of the bed above her with a loud THUNK.

"Ow! Ow ow ow..." She fell back into bed, clutching at her forehead. But terrible pain aside, she had it! She understood what was going on!"

_'It's the Doppleganger Protocol! The only reason Haruto would want a password to be enforced on himself is because the Haruto that showed up might not have been Haruto! We're dealing with shape-shifters!'_

Was Haruto himself a shape-shifter? Or just their enemies? Well, no matter on the details for now, she'd figure them out sooner or later. Shoko rose from her bunk, still holding her head in pain but grinning widely. She'd done it! She'd solved the mystery!

Chapter 13 End

* * *

**AN: Thanks to Christemo and xchrispx for beta-reading!**

**Eruerufu's chaff grenades were inspired by the Metal Gear Solid devices of the same name. Funny thing about that, I thought for years that chaff grenades actually exist in that form because of that game, and it wasn't until much later that I discovered they didn't. It was so disappointing...**

**Sorry for putting Haruto and Saki through all this, but the light at the end of the tunnel is only rewarding if the tunnel is dark enough, right? T_T**

**Thanks to everyone for reading, hope you enjoyed, and here's to seeing you in the next chapter!**


	14. Chapter 14 - Transit

"This is amazing!" 'Yamada' exclaimed, looking happily at his own hands. "I'm so big!"

Saki felt her mouth quirk ever so slightly. As down as she was feeling, 'Yamada's' excitement was hard to ignore.

_'It IS Marie-chan's first time bodyjacking someone, after all.'_

Her own first time bodyjacking had been incredibly fun too, although her pleasant memory was quickly followed by a stab of guilt at how she'd used Haruto's body.

"And I think..." 'Yamada' gingerly slid his feet apart and took a ready pose. "I think I know some kind of martial arts?" He made a short jab at the air. "But I don't know anything new about Thunder. So we get the body's, uh, physical skills? But no memories?"

"That seems to be how it works," Inuzuka-senpai said.

"I see..." 'Yamada' pulled out of his stance and looked down at Marie-chan's body, slumped over in her chair. "It's hard to believe that's me down there."

Saki's gaze followed 'Yamada's.' The sight of the small unconscious girl filled her with questions. Just who was Nobi Marie? How had she become a Kamitsuki? As much as they'd scoured Module 77 during their trip to the moon, they hadn't any found any more Valvraves. So did Marie's Kamitsuki status mean there were more hidden caches of Valvraves on the Module? Or was she the pilot of one of the incomplete units in the hidden storage area? Or was it something else entirely?

"I think I'm finished." 'Yamada' reached down and grasped Marie's body, his large hands enveloping her upper arms. "I bite myself to end the bodyjack, right?"

A few moments later, Marie-chan was back in her own body and Yamada was grinning at her. "How was your ride in the Thunder-mobile?"

"It was great." Marie-chan said. But mostly she just looked sleepy.

"Do you have any ideas, Takumi Kibukawa?" L-Elf gave the physics teacher a look. An oddly pointed look, from Saki's perspective.

"No clue..." Kibukawa-sensei rubbed his stubbly chin. "Let's say that Haruto's no-aging hypothesis is right and Marie-chan was... eleven or twelve years old biologically when she was transformed, that doesn't mean much. She could be actually thirty years old for all we know."

"Don't feel thirty," Marie-chan grumbled.

"So you don't remember anything?" Haruto's voice sounded from VVV I's loudspeakers. "Nothing at all?"

"Just Satomi-senpai making a speech at the entrance ceremony." There was an undercurrent of annoyance in the small girl's voice.

Saki couldn't help glancing over at VVV I. Haruto had been hiding out in the red Valvrave for three days now, ever since the death of Koei Takeo.

_'...ever since we... I broke up with him...'_

It had been her fault, she realized that now. Haruto had just been reacting to the sudden death of Takeo-senpai. It hadn't been about her at all. But at the time she'd been so damned sure he was... what, out to get her? Had she even really believed that? Haruto wasn't that kind of person at all.

_'Like mother, like daughter...'_

A day after the debacle Haruto had returned briefly to the room they shared to pick up some of his things. And then he was gone to self-imposed banishment within his Valvrave. Saki hadn't seen him since, and she had to assume he was living in there, much like Akira-chan was living in Little Witch.

She'd thought about moving back to her original room in the student dorm, but ultimately decided against it. There wasn't a point to that. The sense of loneliness she felt while in the room she'd shared with Haruto had deepened, however, and she spent as much time away from it as she could, often in the ruined buildings of the campus where students weren't supposed to go; there was a danger they could fall through a weakened floor, or be hit by falling rubble. But with her immortality, why should she try to avoid such things?

"What if she's a prototype Kamitsuki?" A-Drei asked. "Some sort of test run for the rest of you? And something went wrong when she was transformed, so she lost her memory."

"Or maybe..." Otamaya-kun picked up the line of thought. "They ERASED her memory! Gotta keep their project secret, right?"

Saki peered at the otaku sideways under her lashes, trying to keep her observation of him inconspicious. Otamaya-kun had also unfairly been a recipient of her temper. While she would never have called him a friend, they'd developed a rapport after she'd become a Valvrave pilot. Back in her idol days, Alice had taught her that it was a good idea to be on good terms with the production crew, since it took a team to put together a performance. She'd applied the same principle to the student engineers. They were the ones that kept Carmilla serviced and running, after all. And she'd discovered that they were surprisingly likeable.

That rapport was gone now. The few times she'd seem Otamaya-kun around, he'd actually flinched at the sight of her. While she didn't think he told his friends about her freaking out on him, they seemed to have picked up on his discomfort and were also being weird around her.

"Akira thinks Marie-chan might be the pilot of Unit Two," Yamada reported, looking at his phone.

"No shorthand! Read it right!" Akira-chan scolded over Little Witch's speakers.

"Right, right..." Yamada cleared his throat theatrically. "Ahem. 'I think it's important to remember we have six Valvrave units, not five. Could it be possible Marie-chan is the pilot of the missing Unit Two?' That better?"

"Better," Akira-chan allowed.

"What's Unit Two?" Marie-chan asked. "Six Valvraves? I thought there were only five..."

"There are five units in use, yes," L-Elf explained. "But there was a sixth incomplete unit which the Dorssians discovered in storage and subsequently stole. That was Unit Two."

"Why didn't I didn't know about this?" Marie-chan glanced toward VVV I.

"We believed that if this knowledge were made available to the student body, it would be discovered eventually by ARUS. And their fear of losing military parity with Dorssia might have driven them to hostile action against Module 77, despite their domestic public opinion."

Marie-chan gave a tiny nod. "Senator Figaro proved ARUS isn't really our friend..."

"Working from the hypothesis that you are indeed Unit Two's pilot," L-Elf continued. "Nobi Marie, in a day's time, we will be leaving Module 77 on a mission to retrive Unit Two from Dorssia. Will you join us?"

Marie-chan blinked, and then nodded resolutely. "If it'll help me learn who I am, I'll do it."

"Very well," L-Elf said. "If you will be a Valvrave pilot, there are things you need to know..."

As L-Elf gave Marie-chan a rundown of all the events that had happened since the loss of VVV II, Saki found herself lost in her thoughts again. She only came back to full awareness as she realized the meeting was done and everyone was getting ready to leave. She looked over at VVV I again, debating whether to go speak to Haruto. She didn't want this distance between them... only she didn't know how to bridge it. What could she possibly say after what happened?

Saki watched as Otamaya-kun went up to L-Elf. "I got those transmitters you wanted finished," he reported.

"Thank you, Otamaya Yusuke," L-Elf replied.

That done, Otamaya-kun headed off by himself. Saki went after him. This was an exchange that she felt more sure about starting.

Otamaya-kun shrank down a little when he saw her coming, as if anticipating being yelled at again. "Ru... Rukino-san. What can I do for you?"

"Uhm, about what I said the other day..." Saki trailed off. She couldn't figure out how to explain the situation, and saying something like 'I was having a bad day' just didn't seem to cut it. So she settled for bowing formally. "I am very sorry."

"Whoa!" Otamaya-kun reached out as if to stop her, thought better of it, then bowed back himself. "Rukino-san, you don't need to apologize! It was my fault, really! I shouldn't have gotten myself bodyjacked! And I was being way too familiar, calling you Ruki like that."

"All the same, I, I was too harsh to you," Saki said, stumbling a little over her words. She wasn't very good at apologies. "It would make me feel... better. If you were to accept my apology..."

"I, uhm..." Otamaya-kun tugged at the collar of his uniform awkwardly. "Okay. It's okay, Rukino-san."

"And another thing," Saki went on. "It would... I'd like it if you kept on calling me Ruki."

"Okay, Ruki!" Otamaya-kun beamed broadly. "Thanks, uh, for forgiving me!"

"No problem." Saki smiled back. It felt a bit forced to her, but Otamaya-kun didn't seem to notice.

They stood there awkwardly for a moment, and then as it became apparent neither of them had any more to say, they went their separate ways. Saki did feel a little better about having mended this bridge, but it didn't go very far toward filling the hole in her heart.

* * *

From VVV I's cockpit, Haruto watched Saki leave the hanger. He wanted to say something to her, but couldn't come up with appropriate words. What could he possibly say to make up for what he had done?

Instead, he just sat back in his seat, wondering about the state of affairs that led him here. After the death of Takeo-senpai, they'd been forced to spin his death as in having occured in the line of duty, fighting against a secret Dorssian plot to take over the Module. Midori-chan had been the only witness to the actual events, and they'd managed to fob her off by having Marie-chan tell her that Takeo-senpai had been undercover. The green-haired girl had seemed to accept that explanation for Takeo-senpai's actions, albeit hesistantly.

After helping to sort out that chaos, Haruto had gone to L-Elf and told him his desire to be imprisoned. At first the Dorssian had tried to talk him out of it, but at Haruto's insistance they settled on confining him to his Valvrave, having both agreed that putting him in a prison cell would be foolish, in case the Module was attacked again.

But now, three days later, he was going a little stir-crazy. He was leaving VVV I for bathroom breaks, for showers, and to sleep in the sleeping bag he had set up in a nearby unused room. But that wasn't nearly enough activity for him. He glanced over at the green and purple Little Witch.

_'How did Akira-chan handle it in there for so long?'_

He grasped a corner of the console firmly to keep himself grounded. It was best if he was isolated from the student population as much as possible, in case he had another attack. Even if he was bored out of his mind and close to bouncing around the cockpit in frustration.

Although he didn't much like the idea of attacking a Dorssian base, he found himself looking forward, just a little, to the coming operation to recover VVV II. At the very least it would give him something to do, and it would be a nice change of scene from the 360 degree view of the hanger bay he'd been enjoying for the last few days.

Thoughts of the operation gave way to thoughts of Marie-chan and the mystery surrounding her. Where had she come from and what did she have to do with the Valvraves? After they discovered Marie-chan was a Kamitsuki Akira-chan had tried her hand at digging up the tiny girl's background, only to find the student records about Marie-chan were completely empty. A broader search of the internet didn't lead to any information on her academic history, who her parents were, or where she'd come from.

_'It's like she just dropped onto the Module out of thin air...'_

Was it possible? He wondered. Was Marie-chan some kind of artificial person, created by the same people that built the Valvraves? Was that why she had no memories dating to before the entrance ceremony? Because she hadn't even existed before then?

Haruto shook his head. For a few hours after they realized Marie-chan was a Kamitsuki, he'd been hoping against hope she would lead them to some answers. But her presence only added more mysteries.

_'Hopefully Unit Two will give us some answers once we get it back... if Marie-chan turns out to be its pilot after all.'_

* * *

**ONE DAY LATER**

* * *

It looked like any other ARUS freighter, Akira thought to herself as she watched footage of the boxy ship entering Module 77 through one of the main ports on the side of the Module.

_'Maybe a little rustier than usual...'_

Rather than rising through the water layer to put in at the harbor within the dome, however, this freighter moved toward one of the internal service pathways. These pathways were usually sealed off against commercial traffic by airlocks, but Akira typed in a series of commands on Little Witch's console, opening the airlocks and allowing the special freighter to disappear within.

"It's coming," she said over the comm. There was a flurry of answers from her fellow pilots.

"Roger."

"Got it!"

"Understood."

"I hear ya."

They were all seated at the ready within their Valvraves. The officers of the student defense on the floor of the hanger fidgeted nervously, and Akira could hear them murmuring all the way across the room. Since she didn't have a Valvrave, Marie-chan was standing with the two Dorssians on the hanger floor. L-Elf and A-Drei, both in full dress uniform, didn't respond verbally. However, L-Elf did a very curious thing. He turned to face VVV I and flashed the V sign for victory.

_'What's that about?'_

Akira rubbed her hair nervously as she waited for the cargo ship to arrive in the Valvrave hanger. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself. Even if she planned to stay inside Little Witch for the entire operation, she was still going to leave the Module! For the first time in years!

There had been the two battles, of course. But those hadn't really counted. They were so short and she had been within sight of the Module the whole time. But L-Elf had said that this operation could take several days. Days!

_'Quit thinking about it! You're just gonna freak yourself out!'_

Even if she did freak out, what was the worst that could happen? She could just huddle in Little Witch as much as she wanted, and what were the Dorssians gonna do? Try and dig her out? As if her fellow pilots, Thunder especially, would let that happen...

_'Yeah... that's what it means to be part of a team, right? You have teammates that would look out for you?'_

It was probably best to take her own advice and stop thinking about that topic though. She could already feel butterflies of panic swirling in her ribcage.

 _'New topic, new topic...'_ Her gaze locked onto VVV I. That would do.

Akira regarded the red Valvrave. For some incomprehensible reason Haruto-san was now living in the thing. At first her knee-jerk reaction was to wonder if he was making fun of her somehow, but it quickly became obvious that wasn't the case. Nobody would confine themselves to a Valvrave for an extended period of time just for the sake of a joke. So what was it about?

She couldn't help but think it had something to do with that... thing she'd seen take place between Haruto-san and Rukino-san. But she still couldn't quite parse what she'd seen. And now they weren't a couple anymore? What exactly had been the relationship between the two? What was it now? What exactly was going on?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a low thrum that filled the hanger. The cargo ship was here.

The boxy vessel emerged from an airlock on the far wall and landed on one side of the hanger floor. The Valvraves and the student defense force stayed put as L-Elf, A-Drei, and Marie-chan began to walk toward the cargo ship. Akira saw several of the students fingering their rifles and put Little Witch's hand on the handle of the Hummingbird, just in case.

As L-Elf, A-Drei, and Marie-chan approached the cargo ship, three Dorssians in uniforms came out of the cockpit and met them. Both groups of Dorssians saluted each other, then spoke briefly. L-Elf turned and flashed the V sign to the Valvraves again.

_'What is that, V for Valvraves? Not victory? Is that what that is?'_

"That's it," Haruto said. VVV I started moving toward the cargo ship, and the other Valvraves got into line behind it, like they'd previous arranged. The lead Dorssian spoke into a handheld communicator, and top of the cargo ship opened, disgorging a dozen manned Waffe units. Akira tensed up as the white craft flew overhead, and then relaxed a little as they settled to the floor along the walls of the hanger, powering down.

_'Going well so far...'_

A group of unarmed Dorssian soldiers filed out of the cargo ship next. They made their way toward the Student Defense Forces. Akira knew from the briefing that these soldiers would help to defend Module 77 from attack. They would be taking orders from the student officers and be armed from the Module's supplies. And if the Dorssian soldiers resented being put under the command of civilians, they gave no sign.

VVV I flew up and dropped down into the empty cargo ship. As the other Valvraves followed suit, Akira could only hope that Haruto-san's trust in L-Elf hadn't been misplaced, and they weren't handling the Module over to the Dorssians on a silver platter.

* * *

The wait in the cargo ship was interminable.

Haruto didn't really think of himself as a worrier; sure, these days he always seemed to be worrying about one thing or another, what with the curse, Dorssia, and secret enemy Kamitsukis hanging over his head. But he still tried not to sweat most things. Either something happened or it didn't, and rather than thinking about failing, it was more important to do his best. Those were the mottos he followed.

_'Or at least, try to.'_

Not worrying was pretty hard right now, with his view restricted to the inside of the cargo ship's bay. All he could see through VVV I's 360 cockpit viewscreen were steel-grey walls, slightly reflecting hues of the rainbow wherever one of the other Valvraves crouched near them.

There was a vague thrum of engines which he could hear and feel through his foot-pedals as a faint vibration. So the cargo ship was still powered up. It was probably moving through Module 77 now, heading toward the dome. After picking up the Valvraves the cargo ship was supposed to put in at the harbor. If a ship came into the Module and then left a few minutes later, it would look odd on the flight manifest, so they had planned for the cargo ship to sit at the harbor for half an hour before departing.

As L-Elf had said, it would be best if ARUS didn't know that the Valvraves had left Module 77 until well after the conclusion of the operation. And Haruto hadn't forgotten their original bargaining chip with ARUS had been the threat of handing the Valvraves to Dorssia. ARUS seemed pretty gung-ho about helping them these days, but who knew what might happen if they learned the Valvraves were heading to Dorssian space? Public opinion or not, they might try to seize the Valvraves by force themselves rather than risk the mechs falling into Dorssian hands.

_'Don't wanna be so paranoid, but there it is.'_

The engine sound stopped. So they were in the harbor? Haruto checked his phone. 17:45. Right on schedule.

He waited in silence for a while, drumming his heels on the metal chair frame around the foot pedals and checking his phone every few minutes. Waiting for a battle to begin was one thing; he'd done plenty of that by now. But this kind of waiting was just tedious.

"Hey, how're you guys doing?" Inuzuka-senpai asked over the comm.

"Doing okay," Haruto reported, eager for something to break the tedium.

"Hanging in there," Saki mumbled. "Surfing on my phone a little."

"Hey! Me too!" Yamada put in. "Watching a movie. This Dorssian tub's got internet! Who knew?"

"Not Dorssian. ARUS," Akira-chan corrected softly. "Still on Module connection."

"Oh yeah. Shit, you think I won't be able to finish my movie?"

Across the bay from Haruto, Little Witch's green and purple shoulders rose in a slight shrug.

"What movie are you watching?" Saki asked. Haruto was glad that she seemed to be returning to normal. "It's not some porno, is it?"

"It's a mystery-thriller! ARUS movie called 'Savage Discography.' You guys should check it out, it's pretty sweet."

"I'll put it on my list," Inuzuka-senpai said. "I've got a huge backlog though. Not much time to watch movies lately."

There was a moment of silence. Then Saki spoke again. "No thanks. I just wiki'd it and the plot seems stupid."

"Ah, whaddaya know about good plots, ya singing bitch?" Yamada said, his tone light despite his words.

"Hey, I'll have you know I was in movies!" Saki huffed. "I know this stuff!"

"Yeah, some teenie-bopper flick that nobody saw!"

"I saw it!" Haruto spoke up. He had been wondering if he should join in on the conversation. With how things were between him and Saki, he didn't want to spook her. "It was pretty good!"

_'Actually it was kinda bad. Mediocre at best. But a little white lie like that never hurt anyone...'_

Piping up, however, turned out to be a huge mistake. Saki immediately clammed up, and didn't respond even to Yamada's continued verbal prods. Haruto tried to carry on the conversation with Yamada, but his heart wasn't in it and after a while they fell silent again.

Some time passed, and Haruto was on his phone looking at the ticket sales for Saki's movie, when Akira-chan suddenly spoke. He was immediately attentive; he couldn't remember the last time the shy girl had initiated a verbal conversation with him.

"Hey... Haruto... san?" She squeaked hesitantly.

"Yes? And please, call me Haruto! Everyone does!"

"Haruto." Akira-chan was quiet for so long that Haruto wondered if she was done talking, but then she started up again. "Do-do you think... these Dorssians. Uhm. A-are they trustworthy?"

 _'Are these Dorssians trustworthy?'_ Haruto blinked. She meant the Royalists? That angle hadn't really occured to him. He'd been mostly worried about ARUS and their unknown enemies who also possessed Kamitsuki. Did he trust the Royalists?

"Yeah," he said slowly, voicing his thoughts on the topic as they came to mind. "Not all Dorssians, I mean. Probably not even all Royalists, however many there are. But these guys in particular, L-Elf trusts them." The memory of teardrops floating away from L-Elf's eyes came back to him vividly. "And I trust L-Elf. So that makes the Royalists good enough for me."

"So sweet..." L-Elf groaned over the comm.

"L-Elf? You were listening?" Haruto was surprised. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to hear I have your confidence." L-Elf sounded different. More relaxed. "Thanks."

 _'Must be because he's back amongst other Dorssians.'_ "How are you talking to us?" Haruto asked. But even as the words left his mouth he realized what it must be. "Oh. Those transmitter things you wanted Otamaya-kun to build, right?"

"Correct. Given the events of the Blackout I thought it would best for us to have an alternate line of communication with the Valvraves."

"I remember," Haruto nodded even though L-Elf couldn't see him.

"I was calling to inform you we are about to leave port," L-Elf said. "The captain says we will reach our destination in approximately four hours and fifty-three minutes."

"Destination?" Haruto thought it over. Four hours and fifty-three minutes wasn't nearly enough to reach Earth. "A Dorssian Sphere?"

"No. We'll be rendevousing with a Dorssian cruiser." There was the muted sound of someone else speaking German in the background. "The Captain says you are invited to move freely about the ship during transit."

"Oh, uh, tell the captain thanks for me," Haruto said. "But I don't think we should take him up on that. Should probably stay with the Valvraves. At least on the trip."

"Understood. I'll be listening on the channel. Let me know if you need anything."

The engine sound started again as the cargo ship got under way. After a while, a conversation between Inuzuka-senpai and Yamada started back up, with Akira-chan interjecting now and then, mostly in response to things Yamada said. Even Marie-chan put in a few words using L-Elf's communicator.

But neither Haruto nor Saki joined in this time. They both remained silent for the remainder of the trip.

* * *

The ceiling of the cargo hold split open to reveal the ceiling of yet another hanger bay.

"Valvraves, come on out," L-Elf urged over the comm.

Haruto nodded VVV I's head at the others, and flew out of the open top of the cargo ship. He surveyed his surroundings.

The hanger bay of the Dorssian cruiser they were aboard was massive, and infinitely more complex than the hanger the Valvraves used back on Module 77. The cavernous space was crisscrossed by multiple tiers of walkways, and the walls were honeycombed with alcoves, each berthing a Waffe unit. Rows of insect-like Ideals huddled along the floor. The bulkheads were all colored the reddish purple that the Dorssians seemed to favor so much.

Marie-chan, L-Elf, and A-Drei were standing near one wall, along with another Dorssian. There was a clear space near them where Haruto assumed was for the Valvraves, so he steered VVV I over and landed.

 _'What now?'_ Haruto wondered as the other Valvraves followed his lead and landed in a row beside him. _'Do we just hop out of the Valvraves?'_

L-Elf was making a beckoning motion at him, so he guessed that was what he should do. He shut down his unit, popped the hatch, and descended on the zipline. The three Dorssians strode toward him, followed by Marie-chan, who was snapping pictures of everything with her phone. Haruto took off his helmet and cradled it under his arm.

"Hello," said the new Dorssian in Japanese. He was tall and black-haired, with East Asian features, and looked to be in his early twenties. He extended his hand to Haruto. "I am Lieutenant Fu Ankang. Welcome to the _Tiberi,_ Tokishima Haruto." He spoke Japanese with a thick German accent, but Haruto could understand him.

Haruto shook the man's hand, feeling a little confused. "Thank you. That's a Chinese name. You're JIORan?"

"Oh no, no." Fu laughed politely. "I am Dorssian... Born on Dorssian Sphere Six. But my parents are from Zabaykalsky, near the border with JIOR. There are many ethnic Chinese there."

"Oh," Haruto said. Sometimes he forgot just how nebulous the JIORan border with Dorssia was in practical terms. Probably why Dorssia was always annexing territory there even before the invasion. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." The other pilots were getting out of their Valvraves now, and Fu moved ahead to greet them. He shook their hands one by one, and then paused, staring up at Little Witch. "Is the pilot of this unit going to come out?" He asked.

"This our specialized digital warfare unit," L-Elf spoke up. "The pilot must remain onboard to make preparations for the operation."

"I see." Fu seemed to accept this explanation. "Very well, I will send some refreshments. If the rest of you come with me, I will show you to accommodations."

"Accomodations?" Yamada asked. "I thought we were gonna stay in the Valvraves."

"We have prepared accomodations for you," the Dorssian said. "We would be remiss in our duty as hosts if you were to stay within your vehicles. Besides," He glanced at A-Drei. "There is... that person. He would like very much to meet you."

The Valvrave pilots looked to A-Drei.

L-Elf cleared his throat. "The hostage," he clarified.

_'Oh, right. He mentioned that before.'_

Fu looked uncomfortable at the word. "Yes. So if you would." He began to lead the way out of the hanger.

As Haruto followed after Fu with the others, he noticed that many of the crew working at various tasks in the hanger were looking at them coldly. A few of the glances were distinctly hostile.

_'So not all the Royalists are friendly.'_

* * *

Fu brought them through a series of twisting corridors into the heart of the Dorssian Cruiser. The walls and ceiling were stark and utilitarian, much like the the hallways within the Module, Haruto thought. Only much narrower. Finally they stopped in front of a door. It looked much like any other door they'd passed, although there was a complex multicolored crest above it.

As Fu announced their arrival to a comm unit on the wall, Haruto studied the crest. _'What is that, a bunch of dragons entwined together?'_

The door whooshed open. "In you go," Fu said.

Inuzuka-senpai hesistated at the threshold. "You're not coming with us?" He asked Fu.

"He wants to see you, not me." Fu nodded to A-Drei and L-Elf in turn, then left.

Inuzuka-senpai shrugged and walked through the door. Haruto followed after.

His shoes sank into a thick, soft carpet and he stopped for a moment, wondering if he should take his shoes off. But that wasn't a Dorssian custom, so he looked around instead. The room was lavishly decorated, with wood-paneled walls, completely at odds with the spartan look of the cruiser they'd seen so far. There was a huge old-fashioned oil painting of a man in military dress dominating the far wall. Underneath the painting was an enormous desk, made of some dark wood and polished to a high shine.

A man dressed in ornate red and white robes rose to his feet from behind the desk. He was massively tall, with broad shoulders, powerful arms, and a flat belly. His face looked friendly, with deeply etched laugh lines. Crows' feet fanned out from the corners of his eyes. His hair and short beard were a pale shade of yellow, almost white. On his forehead was a golden diadem.

But what caught Haruto's attention the most were the spots of color painted on the sides of the man's eyes. They were dark purple and set off the man's violet gaze strikingly... but more importantly, he'd seen that style twice before.

_'Amadeus, the Chancellor of Dorssia... and the girl from L-Elf's photograph! Are they connected somehow? Or is it just a fashion for rich and important Dorssians?'_

Haruto's thoughts were interrupted as the man rushed toward them. Closer up, Haruto could see that the man's pale yellow hair had more than a few silver hairs in it. "Vetter!" The man exclaimed, enveloping A-Drei in a bear hug. "Gabriel! Wie geht es dir?"

 _'Vetter. That's "cousin," I think? He and A-Drei are related?'_ As Haruto was trying to figure out 'vetter,' about three more sentences' worth of German swept by him in a babble of sound. _'Native speakers always talk so fast!'_

"Alles gut, alles gut!" A-Drei laughed, hugging the man back. They exchanged kisses on the cheeks. "Und sie?"

There was a faint click from Marie's phone as she took a picture of the embracing Dorssians.

"Beschaftigt... sehr beschaftigt." The man continued to smile as he turned to the Valvrave pilots. He switched to flawless Japanese. "So this is them, eh? It's an honor to meet you, Tokishima Haruto, Rukino Saki, Inuzuka Kyuma, and Thunder." He seemed to enjoy the surprise on the orange-haired pilot's face, but his forehead wrinkled slightly at the sight of Marie-chan. "And... Nobi Marie, the Minister of Internal Affairs. I see Renbokoji Akira elected to remain aboard her Valvrave. I am Uncial M. Dorssia... your hostage."

"Thanks for the props, man..." Yamada was thunderstruck. He sounded a little more like Akira-chan than his usual blustery self. "But, but how'd you know about...?"

"Oh, I have ways of finding things out," Uncial said dismissively.

 _'Did L-Elf or A-Drei tell him?'_ Haruto quickly glanced at the two. L-Elf's eyes were ever so slightly narrowed as he stared at Uncial, and A-Drei was still grinning cheerfully. _'L-Elf's trying to figure out how Uncial knew Yamada's nickname, and A-Drei hasn't even noticed. I don't think they told him... which means this is a message. He's telling us he has ways to keep track of what's happening on Module 77.'_

"Your surname is Dorssia? Then are you related to Amadeus?" Inuzuka-senpai asked.

"We're distant relations, yes. Though these days we're a little estranged."

"You say 'hostage...' Are you the captain?" Marie-chan asked, looking around the room.

"Oh, no! I'm just a civilian." Uncial shook his head. "Although I do have some basic combat training. All members of the royal family do. But that was decades ago. Completely outdated compared to the program your friends here in the Perfection Army went through."

 _'Wait, Uncial called A-Drei "cousin" earlier. So that means...'_ Haruto spun to face the lavander-haired Dorssian. "A-Drei? You're a member of the royal family?"

"Yeah. I'm... Yeah." A-Drei said lamely, shooting Uncial an annoyed glare. "Gabriel I. Dorssia."

"A-Drei? You're A PRINCE?" Marie-chan's normally sleepy-looking eyes were wide open as she stared at A-Drei.

"Yes, technically." A-Drei rubbed his hair. "I'm not anywhere close to inheriting... Look, just please don't make it a big deal."

"Hey, I don't care who your folks were." Yamada declared. "A man makes his own way in the world!"

"So how come you don't have the eye color thing?" Saki pointed to the corners of her own eyes. "I saw it in a fashion magazine years ago. Something about how only Dorssian royalty could wear eyeshadow like that?"

"I don't exactly want to advertise it." A-Drei grumbled. "Especially on undercover missions."

It all came together for Haruto. The licht girl in L-Elf's photograph was also a member of the royal family. Was that why L-Elf was a Royalist? Just what was the girl to the secret agent?

"So how come Dorssian royalty all wear that eyeshadow?" Saki was still on the fashion angle. "How did that start?"

"I'm not actually sure." Uncial jabbed a thumb at the oil painting above his desk. "Ol' Ulryk has it. So maybe it started with him. Then again, it might just be an anachronism..."

Haruto studied the painting. It showed a handsome middle-aged man with a regal bearing in old fashioned military garb, dozens of medals adorning his puffed out chest. He was looking upwards at an angle and a ray of light illuminated his noble features. Under his eyes were the same purple markings as the other Dorssian royals, and one of his large strong-looking hands was resting on a sheathed saber at his side.

_'An ancestor?'_

"'Ol' Ulryk?' Who's he?" Yamada asked.

"Ulryk Dorssia." Inuzuka-senpai spoke up. "He lived... uh... five hundred years ago? He's regarded as the founder of the Dorssian dynasty and the modern Dorssian nation. Won a bunch of battles and such. All the Dorssian royalty are descended from him, I think."

"Closer to six hundred years ago, "Uncial corrected. "Other than that, everything else you said is accurate. Ulryk Dorssia conquered what was then known as Poland and created Dorssia the Great." He clapped Inuzuka-senpai happily on the back. "You know Dorssian history quite well for a JIORan!"

"Just what I learned in history class." Inuzuka-senpai said modestly. "Actually, what I read in the textbook was that some historians don't believe Ulryk personally achieved all those conquests. There's even some historians who say he might not have existed at all!"

Uncial laughed. "Oh, he existed. Believe me, he did. But the rest of it, who knows? Time does have a way of clouding history." His smile grew wider and his purple eyes twinkled with mirth. "And it's not like any of us would ever meet someone who lived back then, right?"

Haruto shifted his weight uncomfortably. _'If I can't age or die... will I still be around in six hundred years, to tell people of the future about the things happening now?'_

A uncomfortable silence fell. Each of the Kamitsuki was probably thinking something similar, Haruto figured.

"Well!" Uncial rubbed his hands together. "Let me show you to your rooms." There were a door leading out from the main office section where they stood, and he opened it to reveal a narrow hallway with three more doors, made of the same dark wood as his desk and mounted on actual swinging hinges. "We have some beds set up in these two rooms. This door here-" He knocked on it. "-is the bathroom. Toilet, sink, shower but no bath. And down at the end there-" He pointed down to the end of the hall, where a big silver button was mounted on the wall. "-is the escape pod. You hit that button, wall slides up, you get in, you're ready to go."

Marie-chan took advantage of her small size to squeeze past the others and disappeared into one of the doors. Haruto could hear her cell phone clicking away. "What were these rooms originally for?" He asked.

"These are my quarters when I'm onboard the _Tiberi_. Quite spacious for a warship, aren't they? Royalty has its perks. That one was my bedroom and that one was my study."

"There must be somewhere else we can go. What about the other crew quarters?" Haruto protested, feeling embarrassed. "We can't kick you out of your own rooms!"

"You can and you will." Uncial laughed. "Believe me, I wouldn't have come up with this kind of arrangement. But your friend here insisted." He winked at L-Elf, as if they were sharing a grand secret.

"L-Elf?" Haruto looked at the Dorssian spy in confusion.

"Yes." L-Elf seemed completely unaffected by Uncial's friendly mood. "He is our hostage. It is part of our agreement. Our aid to deprive the Amadeus regime of Valvrave Unit Two for the Royalists' aid to defend Module 77 while its Valvraves are absent. We are within the Royalists' power at all times while aboard this vessel, so we must have one of them within our power at all times as well."

_'L-Elf sure is playing this to the hilt...'_

"So the Perfection Army and I will set up out there in the office," Uncial said. "I called the galley a few minutes before you arrived, so we'll get some dinner delivered soon. You pilots should get some rest. Briefing's in seven hours."

_'There's that term again. Perfection Army... is that why L-Elf and A-Drei are so good at the stuff they do?'_

* * *

Marie fidgeted a little in her uncomfortable folding metal chair. Her short stature had gotten her a place in the front row of the briefing room, and behind her she could feel the weight of all those Dorssian gazes. Even if they weren't directly looking at her. She surreptitiously took out her phone for a quick snapshot of the crowd. The room was much sparser than she would have expected, being just a big empty room filled with rows of chairs and a big display screen at the front. The Dorssians at the briefing were loosely segregrated into two groups, and each group had a slightly different uniform style. Marie had no idea what was going on there, but it seemed like an interesting thing to record for posterity.

She caught the Dorssian lieutenant who had met them on arrival, that Fu guy, giving her the stink-eye. He'd been doing that earlier in the hanger too when he saw her taking pictures. She snapped a couple more just to piss him off, then put her phone away. Fu was sitting with A-Drei and L-Elf near the Valvrave pilots, whose Sakimori uniforms looked completely out of place among the sea of Dorssian military uniforms. Strangely enough, Audrey, L-Elf, and Fu all wore yet a third distinct style of uniform which was shared by none of the other Dorssians.

 _'Stop thinking of him as Audrey!'_ Marie chided herself mentally. _'Shoko-chan was wrong about that. It's A-Drei, and that's his code name. His real name is Gabriel! And he's a...'_

Fu leaned close to A-Drei and whispered something into his ear. A-Drei glanced over at Marie, then nodded absent-mindedly. Marie felt a sudden burning in her cheeks and looked away quickly. She'd never seen A-Drei in uniform before, and the effect was excellent. She used to think that the Dorssian uniforms were overdesigned, with those giant collars and silly floppy sleeves. But somehow on A-Drei it looked just right.

And he was a prince. A prince! Just thinking about it made Marie feel giddy.

Her life was taking such strange turns lately. She'd thought she was alone, a one-of-a-kind freak for years, and then suddenly it turned out there were more like her. And not just the handful on Module 77, but LOTS! From what L-Elf had told here there were probably more Kamitsuki in Dorssia, hidden away. And she was probably a Valvrave pilot? And she was suddenly on a Dorssian battleship, mixing with Dorssian royalty?

_'It's like I've really stepped into a manga...'_

The lights went off and a hush fell over the room. Marie looked over to see a woman in a dress uniform, complete with dress, coming down the aisle. She made her way to the front of the room, popped a flash drive into the computer terminal that controlled the display screen, and fussed with the keyboard a bit.

A slide appeared on the display screen, showing the Module-studded surface of a Sphere, backlit by its internal artificial star. Faint rays of blue-tinted luminescence shimmered out from the cracks between the individual hexagon-shaped Modules.

"This is Dorssian Sphere Seven," the woman began. She picked up a clicker from the top of the terminal and clicked it. Another slide came up, this one showing an individual Module, blue-tinted as Dorssian Modules tended to be. "Module 8. Over the past few weeks we have noticed increased shipments of construction material to this Module. A check of local activity shows no major construction work being performed onboard the Module. In addition, most of the materials are military-grade in nature, but Module 8 houses no military fabrication facilities or shipyards."

She clicked again. The screen changed to show a roster of about three dozen names and accompanying thumbnailed head shots. "This is a list of recent personnel transfers of note to Module 8. They are all engineers and physicists. Most military, but some civilian, drawn from all over Dorssia the Great. We've obtained copies of their entrance documents, and their official reasons for transferring to Module 8 range from visiting relatives to tourism. None are officially attached to a project, yet their combined presence onboard the Module is noteworthy."

The slide changed again to show a video clip of three people walking through a doorway. Two men, one woman. All three were in lab coats. One of the men had black hair and the other had reddish-brown. The woman's brown hair was pulled back in a short ponytail.

_'Not the best quality. Looks like security camera footage.'_

"Of particular note is this woman, Kaley Sabati." The screen changed to show a file photo of the woman. She was young and pretty, with great skin, but her smile was sad. "She is a graduate of Lohengrin University, with a Diplom in physics. Her transfer documents state she is onboard Module 8 to visit family... but according to official records, she has no surviving kin, her parents having perished in a car accident when she was 19 years old."

"Also of note is this man, seen in the footage accompanying Kaley Sabati." Another file photo appear beside Kaley Sabati's picture, showing a dark-haired, dark-eyed man with prominent cheekbones. "We believe this man to be one Pyotr Pletnyov. He appears to be Sabati's benefactor, having funded her education. We have been unable to locate his academic credentials, but records indicate he has been attached to various government military projects. Officially on personnel transcripts of those projects, he has been documented as an 'outside consultant' or 'theoretical physicist,' but he has been working on military projects for more than a decade, and from these records we believe him to be an expert in the field of novel weapons research."

The woman paused for a moment. "Unlike the other personnel we have seen, Pletnyov's presence on Module 8 has not been declared. He is not supposed to be onboard, and yet we have camera footage showing him there. From this and the material and personnel transfers, we believe a major military research and construction project is taking place on Module 8."

The woman clicked again, and the screen went blue with a white caption that read, 'end of slideshow.' "A-Drei Karlstein, Karlstein graduate and Perfection Army member will now continue the briefing," she said, stepping to one side of the screen.

"Thank you," A-drei walked to the front of the room. Marie stared, facinated by the way the blue light of the display screen set off A-Drei's eye, turning it an even more vibrant shade of purple. She started to raise her phone to take a picture, but thought better of it. The flash would definitely go off with the roomed darkened, and that would be disruptive.

_'Just have to commit this one to memory... and hope nothing happens to it.'_

"As many of you already know, despite its official pacifist stance, JIOR was secretly developing a next-generation weapons platform, under what they called the VVV Project." A-Drei addressed the room. "The results of this project were the Valvraves. All of you are no doubt familiar at this point with the Valvraves' combat capabilities."

There were murmurs of assent from the crowd.

"But what many of you do NOT know is during the battle between Rear Admiral Wartenberg's fleet and Module 77, Dorssian forces under the command of Colonel Cain Dressel captured an incomplete Valvrave unit," A-Drei continued.

Now there were murmurs of surprise.

"Based on the information presented to you by Major Verschuur-" A-Drei nodded at the woman who had delivered the first part of the briefing "-we believe the captured Valvrave unit is being studied on Dorssian Sphere Seven, Module 8. Should the Amadeus regime successfully reverse engineer it and develop their own Valvrave units, they will further secure their hold over Dorssia... and our Royalist cause will have been dealt a severe setback."

The murmurs from the crowd grew louder.

"At the same time, such a development would destroy the arms advantage that New JIOR has over Dorssia." A-Drei gestured toward where the Valvrave pilots were sitting, and the heads of everyone in the crowd swiveled toward them. "The New JIORans do not wish for such a outcome any more than we do. So they have agreed to cooperate with us to wrest control of the captured Valvrave from the Amadeus regime."

Marie was glad to hear the crowd murmuring in agreement. She hadn't missed the hard looks some of the Dorssian crew had given them earlier.

_'Even if we're not friends, at least we'll be working toward a mutual interest.'_

"This is a covert operation," A-Drei said. "With any luck, our boarding parties will be able to remove the Valvrave unit from Module 8 without opposition. But if things don't work out as planned, we may be forced to fire on our countrymen. In the case of battle, keep casualties to a minimum where you can. But do what you must to accomplish the mission."

"Thank you, A-Drei." Major Verschuur stood as A-Drei returned to his seat. "Speaking of casualties, however, there is one caveat." She worked her clicker again, returning to the slide which showed the pictures of Kaley Sabati and Pyotr Pletnyov. "These two must not come to harm, under ANY circumstances. This is to be considered a mission objective equal to the recovery of the Valvrave unit. Even if you are actively under fire from one of these two, you are not to return fire. Is that understood?"

What was up with that? Marie wondered. If she WASN'T immortal, and someone was shooting at her, she'd definitely shoot back, mission or no mission. But the Dorssians behind her were nodding and muttering 'understoods.'

_'Following orders. Guess that's what it means to be a soldier...'_

The rest was just operational details. Marie was surprised to hear that she was going with L-Elf on the boarding party, along with Inuzuka-senpai and Yamada. It confused her for a moment, until she realized they were still working under the assumption that she was the pilot of VVV II.

 _'This whole mission is gonna be riding on me. What if I can't pilot it?'_ She took a deep breath. All the other Valvrave pilots had assured her they had been able to pilot their units. She'd just have to have faith she could do the same.

Major Verschuur seemed to be finishing up the briefing. "The operation begins in three hours. For the Fatherland," she was saying. "For Dorssia the Great. Blitzendegen!"

"""""BLITZENDEGEN!""""" The Dorssian soldiers answered loudly, startling Marie into jumping a little.

The soldiers were rising from their seats and filing out of the briefing room. Marie went to join the other pilots, A-Drei, and L-Elf.

"Phew! Glad that's over!" Rukino-san was saying. "I didn't understand any of that..."

"I think I got most of it," Haruto said. "But there were some details I didn't get. Those two people... who were they? And was she saying NOT to kill them? Or that the mission was ALSO to kill them?"

 _'Oh yeah, Rukino-san barely speaks any German. And Haruto's German is sorta bad.'_ Marie herself had enough German to understand the briefing. Although where she knew German from, she had no clue. Just another one of the things missing from her memory.

As they walked out of the room, with the German-speaking members of the team filling Rukino-san in on what had been said, Marie found herself thinking of the picture of the Dorssian Module again, and the Valvrave unit that awaited them there. Trepidition filled her, but at the same time, she was buoyed up by a rising tide of excitement.

_'That's where I'll find my past. That's where I'm finally going to discover who Nobi Marie is!'_

Chapter 14 End

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to Christemo for beta reading!**

**For the record, I do not speak German. So to any German speakers out there, if I messed up the German, I am sorry. Please let me know what it should be and I will fix it.**

**So, I have to admit, something horrible happened to me regarding Valvrave. I totally forgot that Blitzendegen was a thing. So then I was rewatching it last week and I was like "waitaminute. BLITZENDEGEN! Dorssians say that!" And then I was like "oh my god, when was the last time I had Dorssian characters say it in the fic? It can't be all the way back in Chapter 2!"**

**As it turns out, it WAS Chapter 2, so to make up for it, here's a big one in this chapter!**

**A little heavy this time around, but the next chapterwill be action-y, I promise! Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed, and here's to seeing you in the next one!**


	15. Chapter 15 - The Battle of Module 8

Marie looked up from her phone as Inuzuka-senpai and Yamada came out of Uncial's bathroom, dressed in their new outfits. Both were holding rumpled bundles of blue cloth-the Sakimori uniforms they obviously couldn't wear onto a Dorssian Module. She was waiting with the other pilots and the three Dorssians, A-Drei, L-Elf, and Fu. Fu was carrying a small briefcase.

Inuzuka-senpai was dressed in a black t-shirt and yellow shorts. Perched on his nose were a huge pair of black-rimmed glasses with square lenses. Out of the Sakimori uniform that proclaimed him as a high school student, he looked older. A college student on vacation to Module 8, maybe.

Yamada was wearing a red long-sleeved shirt and jeans. Marie was amused to note that his legs were much slimmer than his usual baggy pants suggested-although they were still quite muscular. The biggest change, however, was his hair. Instead of standing up in his usual 'do,' Yamada's orange locks were combed down neatly, giving him an almost respectable look. Yamada was glaring about, upset at the changes to his image and daring anyone to comment on it.

Rukino-san pretended to be shocked at the sight of Yamada. "Wow, Thunder?" She chirped, her voice full of insincere surprise. "Is that you? I totally didn't recognize you! You look like... a normal person!"

Yamada's glare swiveled her way. "Ah, shut it, ya singing bitch!"

"Whaaat?" Rukino-san put her hand to her chest, the very image of outraged innocence. "How rude! I was just complimenting you on how good your Dorssian disguise is!"

"I know what you meant!" Yamada grumbled. "Man, I hope next time it's your turn to go undercover and L-Elf makes ya wear something real frumpy, like a nun outfit or something!"

"I could make that look good." Rukino-san tossed her hair.

"That is unlikely," L-Elf put in. "Rukino Saki and Tokishima Haruto are unsuited for undercover operations because of their extensive media coverage. They must fill other roles." He gave Yamada a long, bland look. "And it DOES look good on you."

"Ah, screw all'a ya," Yamada growled.

Marie took a quick picture of Inuzuka-senpai and Yamada, then tucked her phone into a pocket of her sweater, smiling to herself. She'd been spared the Dorssian dress-up because unlike the others, she'd showed up for the operation in street clothes. She wasn't particularly fond of the Sakimori girls' uniform. Too many layers, and that bowtie was way too silly.

"Here, I'll take your old clothes," A-Drei said.

"Thanks," Inuzuka-senpai said. As he and Yamada handed their old clothes over to the Dorssian prince, Marie found herself staring at A-Drei again.

 _'He's a prince, but he's handling other peoples' dirty clothes! That's not prince-like at all!'_ Obviously A-Drei would pick up un-princely behavior from the soldier's life he lived. Somehow that made him even more appealing. Marie wondered how he lived when he wasn't busy being a soldier. Did he live in a palace? Did he have servants? Did he ever get flustered and embarassed when the maids went to do his laundry?

_'Ahhhh, that would be so ador-'_

"Kyaaah!" Marie was too lost in her thoughts to keep track of her surroundings, and she yelped as someone bumped her.

"Ah! I'm sorry, Nobi-san!" A-Drei reached out to steady her with one hand, balancing the bundle of Inuzuka-senpai and Yamada's clothes in the other. "Sorry, I didn't see you there... are you okay?"

"Yeah!" Marie-chan said, feeling her face burn. She should probably turn away to try and hide her blush but for the life of her she couldn't do anything but stare at A-Drei's violet eye, gazing down at her in concern.

_'He touched me! He just touched me!'_

"Yeah," she said again.

"Good." A-Drei gave her a smile, then turned and nodded slightly at the others. "Time to go."

"Yeah," Haruto said to Marie and the two disguised pilots. "Good luck, you guys. Stay safe."

"Good hunting," Rukino-san added.

"You guys too," Marie-chan said.

"Ch! You guys can just sit on yer asses!" Yamada declared. "The great Thunder'll do all the work this time!"

"Hope that's how it goes..." Akira-chan's muffled voice spoke from A-Drei's bundle of clothes.

_'Guess she's on speakerphone.'_

Goodbyes done, they broke into the two groups covered during the briefing: Haruto, Rukino-san, the absent Akira-chan, and A-Drei on one team, and Marie, Inuzuka-senpai, Yamada, L-Elf, and Fu on the other. Both teams went off on their separate ways.

"These are for you," Fu said as they walked, passing out bits of paper and small booklets bound in faux leather to Marie, Inuzuka-senpai, and Yamada.

"What's this?" Inuzuka-senpai asked.

Marie flipped through the materials she'd been given. "ID papers and passports?" She asked.

"So we're going through customs?" Inuzuka-senpai wanted to know. "I thought we were sneaking onboard the Module?"

"Hey, waitaminute!" Yamada flapped his passport booklet at Fu. "This here says my name is 'Fuku Yamada?' That ain't right! Disguise or no disguise, they gotta know who I am if it says my name is 'Yamada!' And you got my names mixed up! Yamada is my surname!" He gave Fu a disgusted look. "Man, I thought you said you were Chinese! A-Drei's a Dorssian, and L-Elf's a... whatever he is, but at least they know the difference between Yamada Raizo and Raizo Yamada!"

"There's no mix-up," Fu said lightly. "I would've liked to use 'Raizo,' as your personal name, but unfortunately it's not in Kanji. So I had to settle for turning your surnames into personal names. We must have the same surname, after all. And I must say it is an honor to finally meet you, Fu Shantian, my [i]cousin[/i] from across the border."

"Huh?" Yamada was utterly confused. "I, I ain't yer..."

"OH! I got it!" Inuzuka-senpai snapped his fingers. "That's the Chinese reading of the Kanji, not the Japanese reading!"

"Huh?" Yamada was still confused.

"Look here," Inuzuka-senpai pointed to the line in Yamada's passport that said 福山田. "'Fuku Yamada,' right? That's how we would read it in Japanese. But Chinese uses the same written script as Kanji, so in Chinese it would be read as 'Fu...' uh..."

"Shantian," Fu said again. "You, Inuzuka Kyuma, are Fu Quanzhong, and you," He looked over to Marie. "Are Fu Yehuo."

Marie understood. "So we're your relatives?"

"That's right. We're from different branches of the Fu family which still remained in contact, despite being separated by the JIORan-Dorssian border. Since JIOR was recently brought into Dorssia, and you're now legally Dorssian subjects, I petitioned for your immigration to Dorssian Sphere Seven, Module 8 so you properly integrate into Dorssian society." Fu smiled widely. "Most Dorssians are incapable of visually distinguishing between individuals of Chinese and Japanese descent, so customs should accept that we're related."

"But I don't speak no Chinese!" Yamada objected.

"Not a problem! All three of you speak German, and most Dorssians are also incapable of distinguishing between Chinese and Japanese accents."

"Man, I thought we were gonna do some secret agent tricks to get onto the Module!" Yamada was visibly disappointed. "I thought, ya know, sneak onboard through an escape pod hatch or some shit like that!"

"Trust me," L-Elf spoke up. "More often than not, insertion is just a simple stroll through customs. It's the extraction that tends to become... complicated."

"If you say so," Yamada grumbled.

As it turned out, getting onboard the Module was just as easy as the Dorssians claimed. They boarded a shuttle off the _Tiberi_ and docked on the superstructure, joining the normal stream of people coming and going. The customs official barely glanced at their papers, and while they had to wait a little at the gate for L-Elf, who had entered separately from them with another cover identity, it wasn't even an hour before Module 8's artificial sun was shining down on them.

Marie glanced around her as they walked, quietly drinking in the sights. It was shortly before noon local time, and the projected sky on the dome above them was a brilliant blue bowl with just a few wisps of clouds. This early in the day, the lattace of the dome wasn't visible at all.

The urban planning was very different from what she was used to back on Module 77. The Dorssian streets were narrower and more winding, and the buildings were made of stone... or at least fronted with stone, very different from the modern steel-and-glass look of buildings in JIORan Spheres. She could totally believe the illusion that she was walking through the streets of a European city somewhere on Earth.

There didn't seem to be as much foot traffic here as on Module 77, although Marie wasn't sure if it was because everyone was at work. Occasionally a sleek double-decker bus whirred by, running on a metal track embedded in the middle of the street.

_'Kinda like the tram back on Module 77, but that runs on its own route. Should take a picture for comparison later...'_

She reached into her right pocket for her phone. Wasn't there. She checked her left pocket. Not there either.

Marie swallowed down a wave of uneasiness. Where was her phone? She checked both pockets again, as if it may have magically appeared since her last check. Nope. still no phone.

_'Where... where was the last time I saw...'_

She thought she remembered taking a picture of Yamada and Inzuka-senpai in their disguises... but her own memory wasn't to be trusted. Had she actually taken that picture? Or just THOUGHT she'd taken that picture?

"We're here," L-Elf said in German, and Marie looked up to see that they were standing on a small residential street, in front of a row of small two-story houses. Fu fumbled around at the frame of a window, and came away with an old-fashioned metal key attached to a tape loop.

"What's this?" Inuzuka-senpai asked in the same language.

"Pre-arranged safe house," L-Elf explained as Fu unlocked the door of a house and ushered them inside. "Acquired a week ago by another Royalist for our use today."

Only bare floors and walls greeted them. Marie looked around, a little dismayed. The house wasn't furnished at all; there weren't even any chairs to sit on!

"Should be..." L-Elf said, looking up at the unlit flat panel light fixture above the door.

"Yeah," Fu said in disgust. "You'd think they'd leave us something to stand on. Gimmie a boost."

Marie watched in amusement as L-Elf and Yamada helped lift Fu up so he could reach the light fixture and wished once again she hadn't misplaced her phone. The Chinese Dorssian removed the panel and took out a slim tablet from where the lighting element should have been. He passed it down to L-Elf.

L-Elf turned the tablet on and tapped the screen a few times. Marie could see he was starting up a program, some kind of network utility. He waited a moment as the screen displayed a wireless connection graphic.

"Are we online?" Fu asked.

Text appeared on the tablet in response to his query.

 **RAINBOW:** We are online.

"Good," L-Elf said. "You know what to do?"

 **RAINBOW:** Yes. Entering Module 8 Intranet now. Accessing technical schematics.

A new window appeared on the screen, showing blueprints of the Module's layout. L-Elf and Fu studied the tablet intently, mumbling softly in German and touching the screen periodically. Occasionally Marie could make out a few words like 'power conduit access' or 'sewage line.'

After a few moments of this, L-Elf spoke to Akira-chan again. "You know what to do with the camera feed?"

More text appeared on the tablet.

 **RAINBOW:** Already started.

"Good." Together the Dorssians went to the door. "Don't leave this house," L-Elf instructed the JIORans. "Keep the blinds down on the windows and don't look out too much. We'll be back shortly."

"What? Where you guys goin'?" Yamada wanted to know.

"Reconnoitering," Fu said as the door closed behind him.

* * *

There was a vague sense of movement as the cargo container holding Little Witch was moved about. A few moments later, there was a resounding crash as the container was placed on the deck somewhere. A further two crashes followed.

_'That would be Nobu Lightning and Beast High.'_

After the Module party left, Akira had been told by A-Drei to move Little Witch into an empty cargo container in the hangar of the Dorssian cruiser, along with some instructions for later on. Before she embarked, she'd seen Nobu Lightning and Beast High being loaded into separate containers.

The interior of the cargo container was unlit, except for a point of red light on one wall that illuminated pretty much nothing. The whole thing was sealed against vaccuum, so even with Little Witch's external cameras on, there was nothing to see. Akira didn't quite like the effect. There was enough light from her console and the lights on her pilot's seat to see, but they lit nothing but her own body and the seat itself-it felt like she had become unmoored from the rest of the universe, alone and floating through an infinite sea of inky black, with only one dim red star to keep her company.

Akira huddled in her pilot seat in her new purple flightsuit, knees folded against her chest. She didn't like the suit much either. The helmet kept her from getting her face right up against her knees the way that she liked, and what was up with those spikes on the elbows and knees?

_'Who designed this, someone who hates hugs?'_

"Okay, we're alone," a voice came over the comm, speaking Japanese. It wasn't one of the other pilots, and Akira scowled at her controls a little.

_'Must be one of the Dorssians, talking over one of Otamaya-kun's Valvrave communication devices.'_

"You okay in there?" The voice went on, sounding way too friendly. Probably that Uncial character Thunder had told her about, apparently some kind of royalty. Thunder had been very taken with the guy, and he'd gushed about how Uncial gave him his props by calling him by his nickname, without even having to be prompted. But Akira knew from personal experience that just because someone was smiling and seemed friendly, it didn't mean they were really your friend. Thunder hadn't even considered that if someone went out of their way to seem ingratiating, they were probably plotting something. As fond as she was becoming of the big lug, sometimes he was just so... Ugh!

 _'Don't talk to me like that. You don't even know me.'_ Akira thought sourly at Uncial's voice. Despite Haruto's earlier assurances, she found herself still not trusting the Dorssians. Even L-Elf wasn't above suspicion. Sure, the spy fought alongside them before when their goals converged, but now that he was back with his own people, who knew what his goals were?

"It's okay to talk, there's nobody around to overhear us," Uncial chuckled. "Perks of being royalty, you know! I'm sure you've heard by now. I get a whole private area in the hangar. Well, not mine personally. It's reserved for the use of any royal who comes to Module 8. But since I seem to be the only one onboard..."

Good grief, could this guy talk to himself. Akira wondered how long it would take for him to figure out she wasn't going to respond.

"And another perk: I'm exempt from luggage checks. Comes in handy in situations like this, don't you think?"

Annoying as the Dorssian was, Akira had to admit that one DID come in handy.

' _Although come to think of it, what the hell do Dorssian royals need to transport that they need exemption from luggage inspection? And for that to apply to cargo as bulky as three Valvraves, apparently with no questions asked...'_

There was a moment of silence. Akira was hoping Uncial had left when he spoke again, sounding amused.

"You're not going to talk to me, are you?"

 _'No, no I'm not,'_ she thought at him. _'Go away!'_

Akira waited for the Dorssian royal to say something else. But as the seconds stretched on into minutes, she realized that he had finally left. She wasn't sure how long she sat there surrounded by darkness, rocking back and forth slightly and sweating despite the cool air blowing into her helmet. But it was a relief when finally the tablet delivered to her by A-Drei winked to life and beeped. She pressed the touchscreen and accepted the incoming wireless connection request.

The connection went through and she plugged the tablet into her console and immediately went to work. After being woefully unprepared during the Blackout, she'd transferred her breaching tools and other hacking-related software from her old computer to Little Witch's onboard computer. As previously instructed, she blindly reached out Little Witch's hand, aiming for a position just beneath the dim red lightbulb.

There was a click as her mech's fingertips made contact with an unseen button, and a specially fitted aperature on the cargo container's wall slid open, just a few feet wide. Dim light spilled in, vaguely illuminating Little Witch's hand.

_'That's much better... and that bulkhead should be Module 8 itself...'_

She brought the Hummingbird forward and gently tapped the tip on the gray square of metal just beyond the opening. Green hard light lines raced away from the point of impact, building circuits that connected Little Witch to the wires and conduits within the bulkhead, giving her a temporary connection to Module 8's intranet. Using her hacking software she quickly broke through the local security and accessed the information that A-Drei told her to find.

"Are we online?" Someone on the other end of the connection asked, their voice tiny over the tablet's speakers.

She took a brief moment to type out a response to them, then went back to work. A few seconds later, L-Elf wanted to know if she knew what to do, so she typed out a quick update. She found the blueprints they wanted through Little Witch's uplink to the Module and sent it to them using the tablet. Following A-Drei's instructions, she accessed the security camera footage for Module 8's customs office. She used the software suite already installed on the tablet to cut the footage of the pilots and Royalists going through customs and looped some earlier footage to fill in the resulting gap. Then she went through the database, found the entries of the infiltration team's arrival on the Module, and erased those as well.

_'This Dorssian stuff isn't bad at all. Pretty intuitive design. Very user-friendly UI too.'_

Akira downloaded a copy of the Dorssian software onto Little Witch's computer. Software to easily edit security footage might be useful in the future. She made sure to isolate it from the rest of the system though, and made a mental note to decompile the program and scour it for malicious code before actually using it.

_'Can never be too careful about strange programs...'_

* * *

Saki eyed the mysterious Dorssian device clamped to the side of Carmilla's console.

_'A-Drei said it was critical to the mission, and he'd explain it when we had to use it... but what exactly is it?'_

The device was a small flattened silvery cup with a round base, about as long as her hand. On one side was a small green button, and when Saki pressed it, a blue holographic sphere appeared over the cup. There was a spot of pink light floating in the hologram, offset from the center of the sphere. For the life of her, Saki couldn't figure out what the sphere or the light were supposed to be or represent. Neither of them moved at all, and there were no controls on the device to manipulate them.

_'It better not be some kind of remote self-destruct bomb...'_

Saki blew out a breath and was slightly annoyed by how the front of her helmet fogged up. Back when they had been on their way to the moon and under regular threat of Dorssian attack, the pilots had gone about their regular routines, only scrambling when attacks actually came. She wasn't used to this wait-around-in-the-cockpit-in-case-something-went-wrong routine the Royalists hadgoing, although she could see the practicality of it.

She couldn't even browse the net on her phone to alleviate her boredom because she had no reception; none of the JIORans did. She had seen a few of the Royalists with functioning cell phones around the ship, so they were deliberately being blocked from the _Tiberi's_ wireless network. The nerve of those Dorssians!

Saki looked around the hangar bay where Carmilla and VVV I were waiting along with a dozen Dorssian Ideals, all ready for action. She suppressed a shiver. Every time she'd seen an Ideal before, they had been trying to kill her, and the sight of all those Ideals just sitting around made her feel uneasy. But by chance, her glance fell on the tiny head-like cockpit atop one of the Ideals.

_'No.'_

She punched up a 3x magnification command on her console and centered the field of view on the Ideal's cockpit.

_'No way.'_

She fought the urge to rub her eyes in disbelief. Not that she could do it with her helmet on anyway.

_'No. Freaking. Way.'_

She called up the comm controls on her console's touchscreen and swatted at the big blue VVV I graphic. "Haruto!" She said urgently. "Hey, Haruto!"

"Saki? What, what is it?"

Saki paused. The trepidition in Haruto's voice reminded her that they were having... difficulties, something she had forgotten in her distraction. She momentarily thought about just saying 'nothing' and closing the channel... but the weirdness she was looking at was just BEGGING to be shared. And besides, they had to start talking about something eventually, right?

_'This topic is as good as any...'_

"You see that Ideal on the right?" She asked. "Third one from that pillar thingy?"

"What pillar thingy?"

"Sorry, my right, your left. It's like a support strut or something."

"Okay, I see it."

Saki waited a moment for Haruto to notice the same thing she did. She wasn't disappointed.

"Wait, what?" Haruto sounded confused. "What is that? That can't be what... Oh my goodness, it is."

"Do you see that bottom part?"

"Bottom part? ...where on the bottom?"

"The drippy... Wait, are you using the zoomed-in view?"

"No."

"Go to three ex zoom, and look again," Saki instructed. "It's shadowed, so it's kinda hard to see..."

"I see it," Haruto said. "Wow. That's... just... with a paintbrush?"

"I think so. See, there's like a little drippage going on at the bottom..."

"That's crazy! Why would...?"

"I know, right? Do you think it's his?" Saki asked excitedly.

"No, no! It couldn't be. It's gotta be someone else's, and they're playing a mean joke on him. Right? There's no way he would..."

"Let's ask him!" Saki thought for a moment. "He's got one of Otamaya-kun's communicators, so we can call him on the Valvrave channel."

"Okay," Haruto said. "Gonna make it an open call. This is Valvrave Unit One. A-Drei, please respond."

"A-Drei speaking. What can I do for you?"

"Hang on a second, A-Drei. Lemmie pull you two into a private call..." Haruto said.

"'You two?'" A-Drei asked.

"Hi!" Saki chirped.

"Hello, Rukino-san. What is it?"

"We were just wondering..." Haruto sounded a little embarrassed. "Which Ideal are you in?"

"Which Ideal?" They heard a soft squeaking sound of padding on the comm as A-Drei shifted position to check his surroundings. Apparently Ideals couldn't view the rear or sides on their displays like Valvraves could. "Should be on your left, Haruto. Third one from the pylon."

"It IS his!" Saki squealed in delight. "See, I told you!"

"Yes?" A-Drei sounded confused. "Did you two have a bet going?"

"Nothing like that..." Haruto said awkwardly. "Uh, I think someone vandalized your Ideal..."

"What? Where?" A-Drei demanded.

"Well, someone put a-"

"Someone put an eyepatch on your Ideal!" Saku cut in eagerly. Unlike Haruto, she didn't think the decoration on A-Drei's mech was the work of a vandal. She'd noticed the [i]Tiberi's[/i] hangar bay was always filled with people, so unless half the workers and pilots were in on the joke, it probably wasn't vandalism. "And they painted a facial scar too! Was it you, A-Drei?"

"Oh. That." A-Drei sounded calmer. "Yeah, that was me."

"What?" Haruto was taken aback. "Why would you do that?"

"Why?" A-Drei was quiet for a moment, then let out a small, self-depreciating chuckle. "Truthfully, I'm not entirely sure. It seemed like a good way to make my ships mine, I guess. And it lets me... own my injury."

 _'I can see that.'_ Saki nodded to herself. She HAD considered having Carmilla wear a cape into battle at one point...

"Like how Inuzuka Kyuma has those shield decals," A-Drei went on.

"Uh, those are a marketing gimmick," Haruto said. "I think he gets paid for those."

"He does?" A-Drei was surprised. "And here I thought... actually, I'm curious, do JIORan soldiers often decorate their vehicles?"

"I'm not really sure," Haruto said. "I don't know much about the military. I think Yamada is from a military family though... could ask him for you."

"Thanks," A-Drei said. "I'll ask him myself. I know they do it alot in ARUS, always painting shark faces and stuff on their Splicers. But it's not so common in Dorssia. I might be copying my squadmate Q-Vier a little; he's the only Dorssian I ever met who personalized his vehicles. Blue flames on everything."

_'Blue flames-!'_

_**Saki screamed as Carmilla jolted suddenly. She slammed forward in her seat, her flight suit crushing painfully against her chest as the restraints connected to her upper back ate her inertia. All her forward momentum was gone; she was being pulled back, away from the Module. It took her a moment to realize that Carmilla was in the clutches of an Ideal's claw and being reeled in towards the bug-shaped vessel. This close up to it she could see the blue flames painted across its hull.** _

The light, jokey mood Saki was in evaporated, replaced by anger.

_'THAT blue flame bastard! I owe him one...'_

"Blue flames..." Haruto muttered. "Hey, I know that guy. That was his Waffe in the hangar when... Aina-chan..." He trailed off.

"Sorry," A-Drei said. Then he said something else, but Saki was no longer listening, too absorbed in the revelation she'd received.

Mostly, Saki blamed herself for Aina-chan's death. The bubbly, amicable girl had been the closest thing Saki had to a friend at Sakimori for the longest time, and the only person who really talked with her. At least before Haruto. She took Aina-chan's death as a personal failing, for not being a good enough pilot to protect the Module and its inhabitants. It had been the event that really pounded into her heart that Carmilla wasn't just an avenue to fame and fortune, that there was a responsibility that came with volunteering to pilot the Valvrave.

At the same time, although she knew that Aina-chan had been physically killed by Dorssians, it had remained an abstraction to her. Not Aina-chan's death itself; she'd seen her friend's mutilated body, and that sight could never be wiped away. Rather, she had never thought about Aina-chan's killer as an individual, a person. There was only the nebulous notion that 'the Dorssians killed Aina-chan.' And she had never felt hatred toward the Dorssians as a whole for the act. The kind of nationalistic hatred that some of her fellow students indulged toward the Dorssians mostly perplexed her. How could she hate a whole nation of people for the act of at most a few soldiers? Sure, she could hate Amadeus, for being the face of the Dorssian government, for presumably signing off on the order to invade JIOR, and for making that speech. But even then, the connection was tenuous. What was Amadeus to her, after all? A face and a voice on television? He was some politician, back on Earth tens of thousands of miles away.

But all that was changed now. Hatred rush through Saki, hot and bitter. Her teeth clenched so hard she thought they might crack. Aina-chan's killer was a person now. An individual. He had personally made the choice to press that button which sent Aina-chan to her grave. The choice to take Aina-chan out of not only Saki's life, but everyone else who had loved her. The killer had a history, a personality.

_'And he has a name.'_

_'Q-Vier.'_

* * *

"Hey, I gotta question," Yamada said.

Kyuma looked up from the virtual pachinko game on his phone. "Yeah?"

"At the briefing, why'd they say not to kill those two scientists?"

"...You want to kill scientists?" Marie-chan asked, momentarily distracted from studying the weed-filled backyard through the window.

"NO! That ain't it!" Yamada grumbled. "I mean like, how come these two get the special treatment? 'Don't shoot back at em even if they're shooting a'cha?' I don't wanna hurt nobody that ain't trying to hurt me, but somebody shoots at you, I figure you got the right to shoot back!"

Marie-chan shrugged. "Didn't think about it much. It's weird though."

"Well, I been thinking about it and I can't figure it out." Yamada said. "Maybe they're Royalist agents?"

"I think it's more like a trade secrets thing," Kyuma said. When Marie-chan and Yamada both gave him blank looks, he shrugged. "Neither one of you has taken business intro... Okay, if you think of Dorssia like a company, the Amadeus regime and the Royalists are both like factions on the company board trying to gain control of the company, right?"

"Okay..." Yamada said.

"Now, a company has resources, and one of those resources is human capital. That's like all the knowledge and training and skills of the work force in the company. The lady at the briefing said this Pyotr Pletnyov guy has been working on all these secret projects all over Dorssia for years! So he's a pretty important source of human capital for Dorssia. And he might have told his assistant things he didn't tell anyone else, so that makes her important too. Right now those two are working for the Amadeus regime, but if the Royalists take over, they'll bring all their experience over to the Royalist government."

Marie-chan absorbed this explanation silently and went back to looking out her window.

"Huh." Yamada shook his head. "And I used to think that you were learning all that business stuff just 'cause you were greedy, but I guess it's useful in the real world too!"

"I'm not greedy. And business stuff IS the real world!"

Yamada opened his mouth, but was cut off by the sound of a key rasping in a lock. The door opened to admit L-Elf and Fu. The Dorssians made a beeline for the tablet they'd left lying by the wall.

"Are you there, Renbokoji Akira?" L-Elf asked.

 **RAINBOW:** I'm here.

"I need you to check something for me. Grid T-8, Deck 24."

 **RAINBOW:** The blueprints say it's a sewage treatment plant.

"Is that the only sewage treatment plant on the Module?"

 **RAINBOW:** No. There's another one. Grid T-4, Deck 21.

L-Elf gave Fu a quick look, and Fu nodded back slightly. "Please access power usage records for the two facilities marked as sewage treatment plants."

 **RAINBOW:** Just a moment.

They waited for Akira-chan's response. Yamada's fingers drummed quickly on the floor where he was sitting.

 **RAINBOW:** Module records say energy consumption for the two plants are about the same. BUT the schematics show six times the number of power conduits leading into the plant on Deck 24 than the one on Deck 21.

"Can you access the computer systems of the Deck 24 plant?"

 **RAINBOW:** No. There's a directory for it, but every time I try to look in them it returns a file not found error. I think this whole directory is fake.

"That's our target." Fu said. He stood and looked at the JIORans. "Let's move out."

* * *

Raizo found himself thinking about Akira again as they walked through the bowels of the Dorssian Module.

_'Shit. This is so totally not the time.'_

All the same he was a little worried about her. Lately she talked alot more, not just to him but to the rest of the pilots. And he knew she'd been wanting to leave her Valvrave more too. Not that he'd ever seen her around after that one time after the Blackout, but she'd been mentioning things she wanted to see around the Module in their phone conversations. They'd even had two conversations in voice chat too.

Now that they'd left the Module, Akira had seriously clammed up again. She had a major hate of the Dorssians, as he knew from the way she'd go off on rants about how they were all bullies and should be punished, a viewpoint which weirdly aligned with his own beliefs on how the strong shouldn't bully the weak. So he hadn't been expecting her to leave Little Witch to use the Royalists' showers or anything. But she'd gotten much quieter even on the phone, her texts shorter and less chatty. Being around the Dorssians she hated so much couldn't be good for her.

There was just something about her that made him want to protect her. Even more so than his other buddies, just because it was something that bros should do. The one time he'd seen Akira outside Little Witch, she'd been so tiny and helpless. He just wanted to... what? See her safe and sound? He wasn't exactly sure of what he wanted. He shot a look at Marie-chan, struggling to keep up on her short legs. Marie-chan was even tinier and more helpless than Akira, but she didn't provoke him with the same feelings. So what was up with that? Although there was one thing Raizo WAS sure of.

_'A man ain't fit to call himself a man unless he can protect the ladies!'_

"Don't look at them. Just walk by like you're on business," L-Elf said casually but softly. Raizo snapped to attention. They had been walking through crowds of people earlier, on various errands to the facilities within Module 8. But the crowds started to thin out near their destination, and now there didn't seem to be anyone else around at all.

They passed by a door that looked like any other door they'd passed. But this door was flanked by a pair of men. The two were wearing coveralls and not military uniforms, but from the way they stood at attention Raizo could tell they weren't civilians. The bulges in their pockets were suspicious too.

L-Elf took them on a path past the door. They continued down the hallway, took a nearby turn, and continued for nearly a minute before L-Elf signalled a halt. "What kind of sewage treatment plant needs two armed guards for their back door?" He mused.

Fu took out a piece of folded paper from his pocket and unfurled it to reveal a map of the Module's underbelly. "You three look hapless," he instructed the JIORans. "Like lost tourists."

Raizo did his best to look like he had no clue as Fu, holding up his map, led the way back to the two guards. The two tensed as he drew near, but he headed right to them.

"Sir, you're not supposed to be here," one of them said.

"Are you guys Module Security?" Fu asked, seemingly oblivious to the warning in the guard's tone. "Oh, good! I was wondering..." He held up his map as if to show it to them, incidentally blocking their view of L-Elf, Raizo, and Inuzuka-senpai. "Can you help me get back to the main stairwell? I think we took a wrong turn..."

L-Elf signaled for Raizo and Inuzuka-senpai to move in under the cover of Fu's map, just as the second guard said, "sir, this is a class one security checkpoint, put the paper away and move against-"

Raizo stepped forward, going for the guard on the left, the one farther away from Fu. The man grabbed for his gun as Raizo closed in, but Raizo seized his arm and twisted it away from the bulge in his pocket, then kicked out the man's leg from under him and dumped him facedown on the floor. Inuzuka-senpai was being overpowered by his target, but L-Elf and Fu moved in to assist and within a few heartbeats that guard was down as well.

Still holding onto his target's arm, Raizo jerked the guard's hand up to his mouth and bit down on the man's fingers, feeling his fangs break the skin.

* * *

Raizo opened his eyes. There was a heavy weight lying on his chest. He shoved it away and watched his own body slide to the ground. His right wrist ached pretty bad. It felt like it was probably sprained.

_'Shit. I gotta be less rough on people I'm gonna jack...'_

He got up and rotated his right hand around gingerly. If they got in trouble, could he fight with that hand? Shoot a gun? Fu was goggling at them, his mouth open. But he didn't seem TOO shocked. So L-Elf and A-Drei had told him about the bodyjacking, had they?

"Yamada Raizo, are you ready?" L-Elf asked, checking a gun that he must have taken from one of the soldiers while Raizo was out. "Is your hand giving you problems?"

_'What the hell. No use worrying about it! I'll power through!'_

"I'm good," Raizo said. He heaved his unconscious body up by the armpits, tipping the weight over more to his left hand. "What do we do with, uh, ourselves?"

Inuzuka-senpai rooted around in his pockets. "I found a key card," he announced, holding it up. "I think this is for the door."

"Open it up," Fu said, now mostly over his surprise. He took Inuzuka-senpai's body and started dragging it over to the door. "We're bringing your bodies with us until we find a good place to hide them."

* * *

"'Observation deck?'" Marie-chan said, pointing to the sign over the door.

Raizo and Inuzuka-senpai looked at each other in their stolen soldiers' bodies.

"This has gotta be it!" Raizo said. "There ain't no sign of Unit Two anywhere, but what else are you gonna be observing on an 'observation deck?' Lions and tigers? This ain't no zoo! It's gotta be the Valvrave!"

L-Elf agreed. "It's as likely a place as any. The longer we take, the more likely Fu and your bodies will be discovered..."

Raizo nodded. Their first step after entering the fake sewage treatment plant had been to find a disguise for Marie-chan. A middle-aged Dorssian man in a lab coat they found near the entrance provided Marie-chan a body, and a nearby janitor's closet gave them a place to stash their original bodies. Fu elected to hide in the closet as well, saying he would protect their bodies and keep their exit route clear if something went wrong.

Since then Raizo, Inuzuka-senpai, Marie-chan, and L-Elf had wandered through the facility, which was anything but a 'sewage treatment plant.' The place was spotlessly clean, and stuffed full of deck after deck of machine shops, labs, and offices. They'd even seen signs for a mess hall and a dormitory, although they steered well clear of those places, wanting to keep their little team away from gatherings of people. Nearly half an hour later, they'd discovered the observation deck door.

"Let's go," Inuzuka-senpai said, leading the way through the door.

Raizo followed him in. The room was a long, featureless rectangle, with a few folding metal chairs lined up along the wall, and a computer terminal near the chairs. Raizo's gaze immediately went to the long glass window that took up the entire opposite wall-and the thing on the other side of the glass. He stepped forward, transfixed.

"What is THAT?" Marie-chan asked.

Raizo was too busy staring to reply. The space beyond the window was an enclosed elongated hangar, with a series of airlocks along one wall, and a track on the ceiling that presumably was used to move cargo in and out. At the far end, there was a thick metal plate affixed to the wall, tens of feet thick, with a blackened crater melted into its surface. And at the other end, opposite the metal plate, was a huge humanoid robot.

His stolen soldier's body whistled in surprise without Raizo meaning to, an automatic act that he probably would have found a little disturbing if he wasn't so fascinated by the robot. It looked similar in size to the Valvraves, although its squatting posture made it hard to be sure. Its disproportionately long arms and oversized hands laying on the floor at its sides. Raizo found himself immediately making comparisons to his own beloved Nobu Lightning.

_'Those arms look pretty big, but not as big as Nobu Lightning's arms!'_

"Is that Unit Two?" Marie-chan breathed. "Why does it look so different from the other Valvraves?"

"That's no Valvrave," L-Elf said. He was studying the mech intently. "This is something new. Mostly custom parts, but some repurposed machinery as well." He pointed, although Raizo had no idea what he was pointing at. "Looks like an Ideal's neck articulation bearing there, in the waist. I must conclude this is a prototype, developed using technology derived from the stolen Valvrave..."

"You mean they took my Unit Two apart to make that?" The face of Marie-chan's stolen body showed a mixture of horror and disappointment.

"No, it's unlikely they would cannibalize a functional Valvrave just for spare parts. Most likely..." L-Elf crossed the room to the computer and started to tap at the keyboard.

* * *

Mikhail quickly calculated the layout of the facility they had seen, and mentally compared it to the Module schematics he'd accessed earlier.

_'This should be only a few decks from the bottom of the facility. Factoring in the dimensions of the staircase and this observation room, the far wall of that test chamber should be near the outside wall of the Module... There isn't much space left for us to cover. Where is Valvrave Unit Two? Was the Royalist intelligence wrong? Or did we misinterpreted the data? Is Unit Two even aboard this Module?'_

"You mean they took my Unit Two apart to make that?" Nobi Marie asked.

"No," Mikhail replied, distracted. "It's unlikely they would cannibalize a functional Valvrave just for spare parts. Most likely..." He went to the terminal he'd noticed upon entering and activated it. As he thought, the terminal was used to enter observational data. He accessed the facility's server, noting that it wasn't connected to any of Module 8's outside systems.

_'No internet access. This system and the databases here are completely isolated...'_

He skimmed through some observational logs. Most of the data was on a "Project Kirschbaum," and a "Project Vollkommen." He was no engineer, so he didn't understand all of the technical aspects, but he didn't find anything that looked like it was about VVV II. However, there was a line in one document that set off his alarm bells.

**Project Kirschbaum: prototype units 1-8 completed. Project Vollkommen: Lowenglitzen refit on units 1-6 completed.**

This was no good. At least one of the code names had to be referencing the ship in the bay below. And as the humanoid design suggested, it was probably derived from the Valvraves in some way. Mikhail didn't know what the exact capabilities of the machine were, but if that damaged armor plate on the wall was anything to go by...

_'Given the dimensions of this facility, I must conclude that Unit Two is not here. If this project goes forward, the Valvraves might not enjoy their tactical superiority for long. But since the facility is cut off from the outside world, there still is a way to shut down-'_

Mikhail heard the door open.

He spun around. There was a shortish, black-haired man in a lab coat standing in the doorway. A man that he recognized from the briefing.

_'Pyotr Pletnyov!'_

"What are you doing here?" Pletnyov asked. "There's no tests scheduled, and you know the obs deck is off limits when testing isn't in progress!"

Mikhail grimaced internally. Had they tripped some kind of notification system by entering this room? Should he shoot the engineer, although he had orders not to? Surely Pletnyov's life wasn't worth the security of their mission. Talking down suspicious civilians was never his strong suit. It was at times like this he wished H-Neun was with them. His orange-haired teammate was loud and annoying at times, but he had an easy way with people that Mikhail could never dream to match. His hand slowly crept toward his stolen gun.

"It's my fault, Herr Pletnyov." Nobi Marie spoke up in her stolen scientist's body. "I lost a bet to these guys, and they wanted me to show them the, you know. I didn't think it would hurt."

Pletnyov stared at her for a moment. "Thimi Pocono, right?"

Mikhail moved his hand away from his gun. _'He seems to be buying it...'_

"This is a major infraction and I'll have to report..." Pletnyov trailed off, his eyes finding the injured neck of the soldier possessed by Inuzuka Kyuma. Abruptly, he edged backward through the doorway. They could hear his footsteps clanging in the stairwell as the door slid shut behind him.

Mikhail considered breaking into the test bay and commandeering the prototype ship, but quickly ruled that out. The windows looked heavily reinforced and the handgun he'd taken off the door guard wasn't nearly enough to break through it. And there were the issues of Fu and returning the Kamitsuki back to their original bodies.

"Shit," Yamada said. "We busted?"

As if in response to the JIORan's words, an alarm began to sound.

"Yes," Mikhail said, pulling out the Valvrave communicator he had tucked in his pants.

* * *

"Valvraves, Command, do you read me?" Haruto sat up straight as L-Elf's voice suddenly came over the comm. "This is L-Elf."

"L-Elf? Haru- I mean, Valvrave Unit One here. I hear you," Haruto responded. He heard voices from the other Valvraves and the other Royalists replying over the comm network as well.

"There's been a snag," L-Elf said calmly, but Haruto could hear some kind of alarm in the background. "Our infiltration has been compromised, but we have discovered two things. One: Valvrave Unit Two is not within the facility. Two: There is currently a weapons program here which appears to be based on the Valvraves. This program is currently in a prototype phase but there are already several functional prototypes. The operational plan must be revised to deal with these developments."

"This is Command," a female voice said. Haruto recognized her as the woman from the briefing. "We copy, L-Elf. Please stand by."

L-Elf continued, "all the research and weapon prototypes developed in this facility must be destroyed. It's imperative-Yamada Raizo, to your left!-It's imperative we retain our technological edge."

Haruto winced as the sound of muted gunfire came over the comm. _'They're being shot at! We need to do something!'_

"We understand," the female voice said again. "Stand by."

"There's no time for that," L-Elf said. "Unit One and Carmilla, I have a mission for you."

"Go ahead, L-Elf," Haruto said.

"Give us... six minutes from mark. At that time, Unit One should leave the _Tiberi_ and manually overheat your Valvrave. You will be able to do so quickly by positioning yourself near the _Tiberi's_ exhaust ports. Carmilla, once Unit One enters the firing sequence for the Harakiri Blade, you should reposition Unit One outside of the Module, within line of sight of Deck 24, Quadrant C."

"Understood," Saki said.

Haruto lifted VVV I from the deck and started to fly toward the open mouth of the _Tiberi's_ docking bay as L-Elf continued to give instructions.

"Once the Harakiri Blade finishes charging, you are to fire it into the Module, destroying as much of Decks 24 through 39 in Quadrant C as possible. Start the countdown... now."

_'Wait, what?'_

Horrified, Haruto stopped VVV I's movement. "You want me to WHAT?"

"Belay that order, Valvrave Unit One!" The commandering officer yelled. "Do not deploy, I repeat, do not deploy! Kaley Sabati and Pyotr Pletnyov must not be harmed!"

"Use Harakiri Blade to destroy as much of Decks 24 through 39 in Quadrant C as you can," L-Elf repeated, ignoring her.

"I'm... I'm not going to do that!" Haruto said, ignoring the commanding officer as well. "Defending ourselves from the Dorssian Navy is one thing, but, but thousands of innocent people will die if I use the Harakiri Blade on that Module!"

"It must be done, Tokishima Haruto," L-Elf insisted. "If you want your Valvraves to remain-" He was cut off by another burst of gunfire, sounding much closer this time than the last.

"Shit! L-Elf? L-Elf!" Haruto yelled.

"Still here..." L-Elf spoke again, and this time Haruto could hear barely-controlled tension in his voice. "I don't know what these ships they're building here are capable of. If they switch to a production model, it may mean the end of the Valvraves and of New JIOR. Is that an outcome you're willing to risk?"

"No, it's not," Haruto said. "But I'm also not willing to condemn thousands of people to death for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, just to prevent that outcome!" He heard L-Elf blow out his breath in exasperation and quickly continued. "You said to wait six minutes. That's so you guys can get out of the target zone, right? Listen, just... focus on escaping. Alot can happen in six minutes and we can figure something else out. There's gotta be something else we can do!"

"Hey, you said these prototype ships or whatever are based off Valvraves?" Saki put in. "They're probably made to fight Valvraves, right? Whoever they've got running the show down there is probably dying to see their babies go up against us. So if we put on a show out here, those prototypes should come out and fight us, and we can destroy them!"

"Destruction of the physical units is not sufficient," L-Elf said. "There must be blueprints on the facility's network as well, and those must also be destroyed... unless..."

He quickly gave them new instructions, including Akira-chan this time. The plan still felt slightly problematic to Haruto, but he supposed it was nowhere near as bad as the previous one was.

_'And anyway, I can just shoot once to begin with, and then wait a moment before the second shot, so the people near the entry point know to evacuate!'_

"This will be a difficult mission," L-Elf finished up, as more sounds of gunfire came over the comm. "You will only have a limited window in which to engage the prototypes and destroy them, as well as for Akira Renbokoji to do her part. Once Sphere Seven's defense forces converge on you, even the Valvraves will be overwhelmed."

"You won't be alone for this one, Valvraves," A-Drei spoke up. "The Royalists will be backing you!"

"Great, backup acts are always appreciated," Saki said. "Just don't go hogging my spotlight!"

Haruto manuvered VVV I forward once more, Carmilla at his side. Behind them came several much larger Ideals, A-Drei's eyepatched unit leading them. Although there was no catapult here to launch him into space like on the Module, he felt like he should say it anyway.

"Unit One, Box Out!"

VVV I rocketed forward, white Waffe units in their honeycomb-like alcoves flashing by. He shot out of the [i]Tiberi's[/i] hangar into the larger hangar of Module 8, aiming for the open square of stars at the far end, Carmilla and the Ideals following behind. There were Waffes patrolling the outer hangar, but they were caught off guard by his sudden appearance inside their own Module, and they simply hovered helplessly as he blew past them. Once clear of the Module, he turned around, bringing his rifle to bear on its sloping underside. VVV I's active scans weren't powerful enough to penetrate more than a few dozen meters of the massive structure, but that was good enough. He targeted Deck 24 and fire one shot, waiting a few moments before opening fire in earnest, blasting a series of craters into Module 8's outer hull. Carmilla joined him, sending her Knuckles chewing into the Module in spinning dervishes of brilliant green.

Their Ideal escort fanned out around them in a defensive formation, and Haruto saw Little Witch's purple and green form clear the mouth of the hangar. He eyed the sparking, smoking breach in the Moduel's wall, counted the layers of internal bulkheads they'd cut through.

"Should be deep enough," he said. "Akira-chan, go!"

Little Witch soared past him on a trail of pink light, diving into the crater they'd made with her pick-like weapon in hand. As Haruto joined the Ideals in their defensive position, he could see a swarm of white Waffe erupting from Module 8's hangar-the Dorssian Module's defenders finally had their act together. Haruto braced himself.

"Here they come!" Saki called out.

* * *

Akira's fingers flew over her keyboard as she drilled through the security protocols protecting the facility's network. Once again she was wedged into a crack on the side of a Module, trying to access its computers. Only this time she was sabotaging an enemy's systems instead of trying to defend her own. Her cockpit was a blaze of green from the hard light circuits glowing just in front of Little Witch's face. Just as L-Elf had said, the facility's network was isolated from the outside world: there were no internet and no hard link to Module 8's systems, which was why she hadn't been able to 'see' them from her previous uplink location in the Module's hangar. But blasting a hole physically into the facility and accessing their servers directly solved that problem.

_'Sweet, poetic justice! Or whatever.'_

The battle chatter had been going out over the comms for a while now, as Haruto, Rukino-san, and the Royalists battled the Dorssian forces. Akira was doing her best to tune it out as she worked, but a new conversational turn suddenly caught her ear.

"What the heck is THAT?" Rukino-san asked.

"A Val-no, it's not!" Haruto responded. "It's gotta be that project L-Elf was talking about!"

"Designating the new target as 'Prototype One,' A-Drei said. "All units, approach with caution."

"Okay, you bastard! Let's see how well you can follow Carmilla's steps!"

"Look out, Saki! There's more than one of them!"

"From behind too?"

Some sixth sense made Akira turn Little Witch around. And there it was, right behind her, obscuring the slice of star-filled sky.

Akira wasn't one of those engineering tech geeks, so she didn't have much of a baseline for comparison, but the looming Dorssian mech had to be the ugliest machine she'd ever laid eyes on. The robot was humanoid, slightly echoing the Valvrave design in the head and chest, but its proportions were all out of whack. Its legs were short and stumpy, and its arms were way longer than they should have been, with brutish, oversized hands to match. Unlike the sleek-looking Valvraves, this mech looked as if it was cobbled together from mismatched spare parts. The thing looked unfinished; it wasn't even completely symmetrical-one of its shoulders had a fin attached to it, adorned with what looked a little like a hubcap, and the other shoulder was bare. Most of it was unpainted gunmetal grey, but there were a few random patches of various colors here and there. Akira could even make out serial numbers stenciled onto some of its bits.

Ugly as it was, though, there was no mistaking the threat-in its chest, right where the spike-like heat sink on a Valvrave would be, the Dorssian mech had a huge gun muzzle. And the bore of the extremely obvious weapon was pointed right at her.

Akira swung the Hummingbird at the Dorssian mech, but the tip of her breaching tool caught against the wall of the crack they were in, stopping short. There just wasn't enough room!

Although Akira's attack hadn't succeeded, her opponent still moved back a few meters to avoid the blow. She took advantage of the Dorssian Mech's retreat to level Little Witch's hand at it and fire her finger beams. _'A piece of junk like you won't be able to take even one hit from Little Witch!'_

The Dorssian mech held up an oversized hand, palm out in a stop gesture. Akira caught a glimpse of a blue light glowing out of its palm a moment before her energy blasts hit in a flash of green light-but as the flash faded, she was surprised to see the Dorssian mech was completely unharmed, sheltered behind a translucent sapphire disc that floated just in front of its extended hand.

_'Hard light? But that's cheating! Only the Valvraves can-'_

The shield of blue light faded as the hand folded in on itself, forming a gun shape. Akira saw that the tips of the mech's fingers were rectangular hollows, and bolts of blue energy flew from them, smashing into Little Witch.

Akira shrieked as explosions enveloped her. She was flung back against the rear of the crevice, and she could see blackened and broken bits of the green vanes that decorated her Valvrave's body fly away. On her console, half of her mech's status display had gone from green to yellow. Her fingers flew over her controls, struggling to fire back at her attacker, but unsure if she was hitting anything. Wedged into the crack with the Dorssian mech at the entrance, there was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, and the Dorssian hit her with another salvo of shots. Parts of her cockpit display flared into static as some of her external cameras were destroyed.

_'Can't take much more of this!'_

Abruptly, the hail of fire ended. Akira stared in confusion, not understanding what she was looking at. The Dorssian mech was still moving, but several long green spear-like shards of crystal were sticking out of its chest and waist. The mech fumbled at one of the shards with its oversized hand, its fingers crushing the glowing emerald material-

-And the shards exploded, ripping the Dorssian mech apart and showering Little Witch with debris. A severed robot hand bounced off Akira's Valvrave as she gasped in surprise.

"Akira-chan! Are you okay?" Haruto asked over the comm.

"Ah, un! O-okay!" She managed to grunt.

"Sorry about that!" Haruto said. "That one came up out of a port right next to you! I'll keep you clear-AHHHH!"

_'Shit! Did he take a hit? Should I...?'_

"I got you, Haruto!" Rukino-san cried. "Akira-chan, do your thing!"

Akira stared for a moment at the shattered, sparking remnants of the Dorssian mech, glanced at the small slice of star-filled sky beyond which Haruto and Rukino-san were fighting...

...and then pulled her digital keyboard back up on her console and went back to work. This was something only she could do, and she'd have to trust in Haruto and Rukino-san to handle the enemies.

_'A team. This is what it means to be on a team.'_

* * *

"I got you, Haruto! Akira-chan, do your thing!"

The Dorssian mech dodged away from Saki's Spindle Knuckle, abandoning its attack on VVV I. Saki brought her weapon looping back around toward the enemy mech, doggedly chasing it down. The gangly robot was slower in straight lines than her Knuckles, although it turned better, using vents on its back to quickly change direction. She looked at VVV I. One of the green wing-like vanes on its back was severed, and a small glittering cloud of debris was expanding outward from it.

"Haruto! Are you okay?" Saki cried.

"I'm okay, I'm okay!" Haruto responded.

Saki glanced over at the hole Little Witch was hidden in, then back toward the mech she'd driven off Haruto.

_'Haruto took down that one on Akira-chan with a single burst, so they're not too durable. Even just a glancing blow from Carmilla should take it out!'_

The Dorssian mech was still playing keep away from her Knuckle, and the green glow of the disc was fading, its speed dropping off. Saki called it back for a recharge and spun it up again, bringing her Valvrave's arm into ready position to launch. "This time..."

Her attack was interrupted by another scream over the comm. Grimacing, Saki glanced over to see another one of the Royalist Ideals flare into a burst of purple light.

_'Shit. Not too durable, but they sure pack a punch!'_

Space around her was a melee of ships, energy weapons, missiles, and mass driver rounds. The Royalist force, comprised of Ideals and drone Waffe escorts, had formed a vaguely dome-shaped defensive perimeter around the breach in the Module. They were currently engaged with the Dorssian mechs that had launched from small openings in the Module's hull. Off to one side floated another group of Dorssian ships, mostly Waffes with a few Ideals mixed in-Module 8's defense forces, from the looks of it. They weren't currently engaged with the Royalists, probably too confused by the sight of what should have been friendly Dorssian ships fighting it out with the Dorssian mechs and unsure of how that related to the two Valvraves.

_'Makes sense, if L-Elf was right about this being a secret project. They wouldn't have told the Module defenders about it so they don't know what's up. But that's not gonna last. Sooner or later someone's gonna start talking, and they'll all be on us. So we need to take this chance to deal with as many of those mechs as possible!'_

There were now seven of the humanoid Dorssian ships in the fray, each one tagged and numbered automatically by Carmilla's targeting suite. There had been eight to begin with, but Haruto had destroyed one. They seemed to come in two general types: two were mostly unpainted gunmetal steel, and the five others were painted white and blue. The white and blue units each had four drone Waffes floating near, and two of each set of four Waffes was wearing an oblong white and blue backpack.

Saki had no idea what was up with the Waffes and their payloads, but she didn't really want to find out. She launched a Spindle Knuckle at one of the Dorssian mechs that had its attention on one of the Royalist Ideals. The mech turned, noticed the incoming attack but much too late to dodge-

-Instead the mech flung out one hand into the Knuckle's path. There was a brilliant flash of blue light, and the Knuckle was flung away.

_'What the hell was that? A hard light shield?'_

Saki recovered her deflected Knuckle, then gunned Carmilla toward the Dorssian mech. That was bad. Were the enemies' attacks hard light too? If so, that would explain how they were able to do so much damage to VVV I in a single burst.

Carmilla shuddered under a burst of mass driver strikes, and Saki yelped, swerving Carmilla to one side. The attack had come from a direction where she was pretty sure was clear of Dorssian mechs and their Waffes. Had one of them somehow snuck over when she wasn't...

A quick glance over her shoulder told her the full story: the Dorssian defenders that had formerly been in a holding pattern was now in full advance, entire wings of Waffe soaring in and peppering the Royalist Ideals with weapons fire, and taking a few opportunistic potshots toward the Valvraves as well.

_'Great, they finally figured out who to shoot at. But Waffes and Ideals aren't nearly enough to take Carmilla down!'_

Saki spun Carmilla around and dove into the oncoming Waffes, counting on Carmilla's superior manuverability to dodge most of their attacks and her armor to handle whatever got through. It was a familiar dance number to her by now, and the Waffes exploded all around her. An Ideal launched a flight of missiles toward her, and she used an old manuver she'd come up with months ago to dodge past the Ideal, which was hit by its own missiles. The Dorssian formation seemed to pause at the ferocity of her attack, and then the wings of Waffes near her peeled away, fleeing back toward the protection of Cruisers hovering near the hangar bay.

"Is that all?" Saki laughed, striking a pose with Carmilla out of force of habit. "Come on, don't you want to dance some more?"

"SAKI, LOOK OUT!" Haruto screamed.

Saki turned just in time to see a bright azure glow from one of the Dorssian mechs, way out at the other end of the engagement. She slammed on her controls, moving aside just in time. A bolt of brilliant blue flashed past Carmilla, just a few feet away, lancing through the fleet of Dorssian defenders and toward the distant stars.

On her display screen, a chunk of Carmilla's right shoulder had gone yellow. Saki glanced toward the external camera feed in confusion. The attack had missed her Valvrave, hadn't it? It definitely had. And yet, there was a furrow of glowing melted metal, carved into Carmilla's shoulder.

 _'It melted my armor just by coming near me?'_ Saki felt slightly panicked as she looked back toward the Dorssian mech, anticipating another attack. _'What would a direct hit do?'_

But no, the mech was just floating there. Saki watched as it ejected a piece of metal from its back. One of its attendant Waffes took off its own blue and white backpack and slotting it into place on the back of the mech.

Replacing a heat sink? A particle accelerator? Battery? Saki wasn't sure, but whatever was going on, it clearly had something to do with the attack the mech had unleashed on her. So presumably it couldn't be fired twice in a row without switching out some kind of hardware?

_'Good to know.'_

Saki tapped at her controls thoughtfully. The Dorssian mechs may be able to dodge and block her Spindle Knuckles, but their Waffe sidekicks only had the manuverability of, well, Waffes.

Before she could go ahead and explain her idea to Haruto, however, he spoke up.

"It looks like they can't use that attack twice without replacing that part those Waffe are carrying. If we take out those Waffes, we can limit their options."

"Huh," Saki said, giving a quick glance at the Dorssian defense fleet. They were still hanging back, clearly not wanting to tangle with Carmilla again. "That's just what I was thinking!"

"Right," Haruto said. "I'll get em into position. You take em out!"

VVV I sent a burst of green crystalline rounds toward one of the mechs. It and its entourage of Waffe jinked and juked away from the spray of gunfire, weaving and spiraling. Saki watched them, half-heartedly launching an attack against an Ideal that edged too close, but actually waiting for the right opportunity...

_'There! An opening!'_

Saki pulled her Knuckle around, sending it flying towards the mech Haruto had pinned down. The pilot of the mech seemed fixated on evading VVV I's fire, and Carmilla's Knuckle smashed through one of its drone Waffe, then another. By the time the mech's pilot realized they were under attack from the rear, the Spindle Knuckle was already flying at it. It flew upwards to try to dodge, but the Knuckle caught it on the legs, shearing them off just below the knee in a shower of green sparks.

"Haha!" She crowed as her Knuckle curved back to her, already picking out her next target. "Next one is that one up by the Module over there, Haruto! See it?"

"Valvraves," A-Drei cut in. "You have incoming from the Module!"

Saki scanned the Module. There, where the Module's surface was just curving away from them, she saw the distinctive bug-shaped shape of several Ideals deploying through a hatch and heading toward them. Just normal Ideals, she thought for a moment, tempted to disregard them. But what was with the note of warning in A-Drei's voice?

Just then, one of the Ideals turned as it set a course for VVV I, and as it rotated slightly to the side, Saki recognized the elongated rectangular attachment on its arm a split second before it deployed its payload, filling space with a cloud of shiny V-shaped projectiles.

"It's those silvery things again!" Saki complained, angling Carmilla away from the incoming cloud. Her evasive manuvers were useless, however, as the silvery things easily caught up to her and attached to her Valvrave, restricting her movements. "AGH! I HATE THESE THINGS!"

"Use your countermeasures!" Haruto yelled, as a haze of white vapor exploded around VVV I. A few moments later the red Valvrave flew free of the vapor, the silvery things clinging to it peeling away, frozen.

 _'Oh yeah.'_ Saki pressed the button for the canisters Kibukawa-sensei had attached to Carmilla's chassis. _'I almost forgot I had those...'_

As the canisters burst, showering Carmilla with water that rapidly froze in the coldness of space, she caught a glimpse of one of the silvery thing-launching Ideals pointing its other arm toward her. A faint blue glow appeared in the gun barrel in the middle of its claw a moment before the expanding frozen mist obscured the Ideal from her sight.

_'Charging up an attack to hit me while I'm immobilized? Too bad for you I'll be moving in a second...'_

Besides, even if she got hit, it wouldn't matter much. Carmilla was more than tough enough to take a direct hit from an Ideal's cannon without suffering major damage. She'd just have to try harder to avoid being hit again in the same...

Saki frowned, the final glimpse of the charging particle weapon refusing to leave her mind's eye. There had been something off about it. Something that was nagging at her, even as she pressed down on her foot pedals, preparing to move Carmilla free as soon as the silvery things were frozen.

Her eyes flew open. The barrel of a standard Ideal claw-cannon was round. She'd seen enough of them pointed at her by now to know the shape. But the barrel on the Ideal just now was roughly triangular.

_'Just like the barrel on the guns in those mechs' chests!'_

She'd only hesitated for a few seconds, waiting for the silvery things to fully freeze in the cloud of vapor before moving. But those short seconds had been much too long. Even as she spurred Carmilla into action, the mist around her suddenly flared blindingly bright, billions of tiny frozen crystals refracting the light of the oncoming energy beam lancing toward her.

The viewscreen was too bright to make out anything. Saki shrieked as something smashed into Carmilla, jolting her in her chair.

* * *

Haruto flung VVV I into the cloud of frozen vapor, his viewscreen instantly going white as he reached out blindly with his Valvrave's arm. His Valvrave shook as it suddenly collided with Carmilla, and he pushed her behind him with VVV I's right arm, bringing the shield in his left arm in front of him, holding it up to the last direction where he'd seen the Ideal charging up. At least, he hoped it was the right direction.

Something hit his Valvrave, hard enough to throw both VVV I and Carmilla out of the vapor cloud. Haruto shook his head, trying to ignore the ringing in his ears and the alarms blaring into the cockpit. He glanced over at Carmilla to make sure Saki was okay, then turned his attention to his console to check how much damage he'd taken. On the display, parts of VVV I's torso were yellow from the earlier hits, and the left arm was solid red from the elbow down. Looks like he'd successfully blocked the attack with his shield. He looked over at the limb to see how bad it was.

VVV I's entire left forearm was gone. And the force of the impact had caused him to lose his rifle.

Haruto's mind raced. One BLOCKED shot had taken out his Valvrave's arm. If he took a direct hit, he was probably done for.

The modified Ideals were advancing now, secure in their superiority. There were a total of six, he saw, coming up in a loose formation. Two of them were charging up their beam weapons again, and the rest were launching more EMP boomerangs. It looked like they were taking advantage of their momentum, expecting him to back off...

...and a few months ago, he might have done just that. Certainly the first time he'd fought an Ideal, he'd done nothing but retreat. But if he'd learned anything since then, it was that retreating from Ideals got you in trouble.

_'They might have new weapons, but the basic idea's still the same!'_

Haruto dove towards the Ideals, swerving to dodge both the energy beams as they fired. Most of the boomerangs flashed past him, not manuverable enough to intercept, although a few managed to stick onto his hull. Within a few seconds, he was on top of the Ideals. He stabbed his mech's sword one-handed, skewering through the head of the nearest ship. As the bug-like vessel stopped moving, he swung it around into the path of the pursuing EMP boomerangs.

The boomerangs' targeting software not quite sophisticated enough to distinguish between the Valvrave and the Ideal it was hiding behind. As they attached themselves to the larger vessel, Haruto kicked off towards another Ideal. It brought up its beam weapon and pointed it at him, but he sliced the cannon in half and followed up with another slash to its front. The Ideal spun away, venting air, and he destroyed its boomerang launcher with a burst from his head-mounted cannons.

The Ideals were scattering from their loose formation, trying to get some distance, but they were surprised and disorganized by his aggression. He disengaged from the one he'd wounded and went after another, chasing it down as it flew backward.

He destroyed two more Ideals, then was forced on the defensive as VVV I had collected enough EMP boomerangs to drastically slow its movements. The two remaining Ideals closed on him, staggering the firing of their main beam weapons so he was forced to constantly evade.

_'They're getting closer to hitting me every time. Can Saki...?'_

A quick glance over showed Haruto he wouldn't be getting help from her. Carmilla was fighting off three of the Dorssian mechs, one of one of which had no legs, keeping them at bay with broad sweeps of her Spindle Knuckles. He'd have to get out of this one on his own.

_'Should I use another one of Kibukawa-sensei's countermeasures? But that'll blind me, and I'll have to stay in the cloud long enough for the boomerangs to freeze off. If they just fire into the cloud they'll hit me easily. So what do I do?'_

The Ideals were still coming closer. He tensed his fingers on his joystick, going through the motion in his mind. Maybe he could throw his sword at one of them? But that would leave him with no weapon other than his head-mounted cannons, and those weren't nearly enough to take down an Ideal...

Suddenly, the Ideal on the left staggered under a volley of missiles. The other Ideal dodged to the right, and Haruto seized the opportunity, hurling his sword into the dodging Ideal's path. The blade sank deeply into the Dorssian ship's flank, and something within the ship exploded, sending it spinning out of control. Some of the EMP Boomerangs clinging to VVV I fell away as their controlling launcher was destroyed, and Haruto zoomed forward, reclaiming his sword. Before he could reach the disabled Ideal, its head ejected from its body, flying toward the Module. Rather than going after it, Haruto sliced through the beam cannon on the body, making sure that that the prototype Dorssian weaponry was destroyed.

He turned back to the final Ideal, but was surprised to see it was already a blackened, burnt-out shell. Another Ideal came into view around the wreckage, and he lifted his sword, preparing to attack.

"Wait, Unit One, it's me!" A-Drei said over the comm.

Haruto dropped his guard. "A-Drei?" He realized that the Dorssian spy's Ideal was damaged, one of its wings missing and its hull covered with pits and scorch marks. "Thanks for the save."

"You're welcome," A-Drei said grimly. "Come on, Carmilla needs help."

Haruto glanced over and was shocked to see how much Saki's situation had deteriorated. The legless Dorssian mech had been cut in half on a diagonal and its pieces were floating away in two directions, but the other two had forced Saki back to a defensive position near Akira-chan's hole. Half of Carmilla's torso was slagged, and two of the extra legs on her skirt were missing.

"Saki! Hang on!" Haruto cried, zooming towards the Dorssian mechs attacking her. Far faster and more manuverable than the Ideals, they were well out of the way before he could reach them. He settled on the surface of the Module beside Carmilla.

"Just in time, Haruto," Saki breathed. "Come on, let's get em."

Together they launched toward the two Dorssian mechs, but rather than engage them, the mechs continued to retreat, and Haruto and Saki suddenly found themselves in the middle of a swarm of Waffe and missile fire from Ideals. Dismayed, Haruto looked around the battlefield and was shocked to realize how badly it was going.

Most of the Royalist forces had been destroyed, and Module 8's defense forces were closing in around them. Even as he watched, A-Drei's beleagured Ideal detonated in a ball of purple flame as it was overwhelmed by an entire wall of Waffe units locked together. Haruto's heart skipped a beat until he saw the small escape pod launch from the explosion and flit toward the two Valvraves.

 _'We can't last much longer on our own...'_ Haruto plunged into the middle of the enemy forces, desperately trying to keep from being overwhelmed. But for every enemy ship he destroyed, two more seemed to take their place. The Dorssian mechs were always there, hounding him, but every time he went for them, an Ideal or a Waffe squadron got in the way. The Dorssian defense forces were finally coordinating their efforts with the mechs, and he was forced to play keep away from the more powerful weapons of the Dorssian mechs, but this sometimes drove him into the path of fire from the Waffe and Ideals, and even those relatively weak weapons were taking their toll on VVV I. To make matters worse, the thermal gauge showed his Valvrave was steadily climbing toward overheating. While the Harakiri Blade would definitely take out most of the Dorssian fleet, the moment he became immobile, the Dorssian mechs would finish him off.

"This is Valvrave Unit One," Haruto said over the comm. "To all Royalists listening, we are being overwhelmed. We need reinforcements!" He knew that there were several Valvrave communicators among the Royalist forces; A-Drei had one, L-Elf hand one, and at least one was on the bridge of the _Tiberi._ Someone had to be listening in.

But as the seconds ticked by and more of his status display turned yellow from accumulating damage, only silence met his request. Haruto heard A-Drei repeated his request in German a moment later, ostensibly on the Royalists' own channel, but even that got no reply. Even if the Royalists were listening, they weren't responding.

* * *

_'Shut down external communications so they can't transfer the data out of the isolated facility... Hose the directory entries... overwrite the referenced data on the drives multiple times with random bits so it's beyond recovery...'_

Akira scowled, her lips compressed into a thin bloodless line as she glared at the scrolling data entries on her screen. She had to hurry; judging by the chatter coming over the comm, things weren't going well out there. But at the same time, she had to be thorough.

_'Still gotta go through the drives manually, in case there's something they didn't put on the directory. Gotta make sure I get it all...'_

No, no. That was stupid. A good hacker didn't do that kind of brute force stuff on her own. Not when it could be automated. Akira's fingers flew over the keyboard as she started to write a new program. She was a relative newbie when it came to this data deletion gig. Secure a copy of proprietary data for her own use, maybe disseminate it on the web? No biggie. Completely destroy the data and leave nothing behind? Not QUITE in her skill set. But she was adapting.

 _'Self-replicating... able to breach basic security protocols and sort through unlisted data entries... and hide it in system architecture...'_ Akira pursed her lips. Should she include an algorithm to allow her creation to detect and evade malware scans? No, that would take too long to write. But the Dorssians in the facility were probably on evacuation orders or something like that, and by the time they were settled enough to run a scan, her worm should have already done its work.

Haruto's voice sounded over the comm. "This is Valvrave Unit One. To all Royalists listening, we are being overwhelmed. We need reinforcements!"

That sounded bad. Akira finished up a few last lines of code, then hit upload, sending her worm into the Dorssian computer system. She heard no response from the Royalists to Haruto's plea, and that sounded even worse.

She gave the computer system one last look-over. What she could see seemed clean, and she could only hope her worm could handle whatever was left. Little Witch disconnected from the Dorssian computer, hafted the Hummingbird, shouldered aside the wreckage of the Dorssian mech, and spilled out into space.

Akira glanced around, shocked that the battle had turned against them as much as it had. Space was filled with a tumble of hostile Dorssian ships, engaged with a few beleaguered Royalists and the red and green pair of Valvraves. There were dozens of Ideals and too many Waffe to count. There was even a trio of dark red Cruisers hanging just off the battle. They weren't firing, but a steady stream of reinforcements were pouring out of their hangar bays, replenishing the Dorssian numbers faster than Carmilla and VVV I could deplete them.

_'Gotta help em! Maybe if I can get near one of those Cruisers, I can hack it and do something...'_

She charged into battle, firing on a wing of five incoming Waffe with Little Witch's finger beams and forcing them to scatter, although she didn't manage to hit any of them. She picked out the manned unit commanding the cluster by its distinctive head and went after it, brandishing the Hummingbird.

_'Getting the drones before was pretty nice, but if I can take control of the flight leader, ALL the drones are mine!'_

The manned waffe slowed and turned to face her as she drew near, slamming its shield plates together... which was just what she wanted. She tapped the tip of the Hummingbird against the rectangular white expanse, leaving behind a glowing green dot, and then pulled away. One of the drone Waffe strafed her with a few mass driver rounds, but she barely registered the impacts as she smirked to herself, imagining the look of bemusement on the Waffe pilot's face as she took control of his ship, and through it, the drone Waffe.

Thankfully, managing the drone Waffes wasn't particularly difficult. They had a virtual control suite and an advanced AI-all she had to do was pick a mode, designate a target, and away they went! Akira looked around for a good target and found an Ideal which was blasting away at VVV I, its side turned to her. Perfect.

She sent all four of her drone Waffe after the Ideal, while keeping the piloted unit near her. If that unit was destroyed, she would lose her connection to the drones, after all. But almost immediately after keying in the commands to the AI, she came under fire from a shower of missiles, taking several hits that jolted her harshly in her chair. Turning Little Witch around, she saw three Ideals bearing down on her, launching even more missiles.

Akira was forced to back away, returning fire with her finger beams but not doing much damage to the Ideals. The heavy fighters advanced past her hacked Waffe, not understanding the situation, and she took the opportunity to ram the manned Waffe unit into one of the bug-like ships, opening up a huge flaming hole in its underside and sending it spinning away. But the other two Ideals still came on inexorably, pelting her with even more missiles.

As Little Witch reeled under multiple missile impacts, Akira was forced to admit her original plan to attack the Cruiser was a bust. Little Witch just didn't have enough offense to easily take down multiple Ideals-or the manuverability to get close to them while dodging their missiles.

"This is Valvrave Unit One. Send reinforcements. Repeat, we need reinforcements!" Haruto called again. A quick glance over showed Akira that Carmilla and VVV I were still holding their own, but barely. She finally noticed how badly damaged the two Valvraves were, missing limbs and covered with scorch marks. The number of enemy vessels arrayed against them had multiplied, and it looked like all the Royalist Ideals had been destroyed or crippled.

_'We're on our own...'_

A chill went down Akira's spine. Had the Royalists planned this situation? Or even if not planned exactly, decided to take advantage of it by deliberately not answering Haruto's calls for help?

_'They wipe out the research that the Amadeus faction is doing on hard light or whatever, and they allow the Valvraves to be destroyed. This way the Amadeus faction loses their advantage against the Royalists, and when the Royalists take over Dorssia, they won't have to give the JIORan Homeland back, because New JIOR will have lost all their leverage!'_

_'A win-win for the Royalists.'_ Akira's eyes widened as another thought came to her, even worse than the last. _'Beast High and Nobu Lightning are still in Uncial's private berth! So the Royalists walk away with two Valvraves of their own to study!'_

Suddenly even more blue streaks of missile trails appeared on her screen, and Akira saw that the Ideal she'd damaged earlier was back in the fight, the hole in it not quite as crippling as she'd thought. As if that wasn't enough, two waves of Waffes were converging on her, the units in the front already opening up on her with mass drivers.

Akira tumbled away from the new attacks as best she could, but the cockpit still resounded with muted metal pings as some of the mass driver rounds found their mark. She wanted to cry and scream. They were deep in hostile territory, in a situation they couldn't get out of, and their so-called allies were banking on their destruction. There was no way they were gonna-

"Hey, hey! Did I hear someone call for reinforcements?" Thunder's loud, brash voice sounded over the comm. Akira had never been more glad to hear someone's voice in her life. "Nobu Lightning is here!"

A fan of green energy beams streaked into the heart of the Dorssian formation, ripping through a dozen Waffes as Beast High and Nobu Lightning flew out of Module 8's hangar bay, trailing blue and yellow. Behind them came a single Ideal, whose claw cannon fired, one, two, three times-

-and the heads of the three Ideals hounding Akira blew apart in quick succession, immediately stopping their missile spam. Akira spared the friendly Ideal a grateful thought. Accuracy like that could only be L-Elf.

The newly arrived Valvraves tore into the Dorssian formation, and Haruto and Saki redoubled their efforts. The Dorssian forces struggled to mount a defense against attackers from both directions. Within a few moments, they had managed to clear away enough of the Dorssian to form up, all five Valvraves, as well as four Royalist Ideal escape pods, which quickly docked with L-Elf's Ideal.

"You're late!" Rukino-san said, the relief in her voice belying her chiding words. "You almost missed the show!"

"Yeah, we got hung up," Inuzuka-senpai said. "Thunder slowed us down a bit!"

"I got shot!" Thunder said happily.

Akira's heart skipped a beat. She opened her mouth to ask after him, but Haruto beat her to the punch. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just winged my leg," Thunder said. "Hell, wasn't even my body. It was the Dorssian I was in!"

"Good to hear," Haruto said, his Valvrave collecting his rifle from where it was spinning in space. Akira grunted an agreement. "Is everyone there? Marie-chan?"

"I'm here," Nobi-san said. "I'm with Inuzuka-senpai."

"Present," said L-Elf.

"I'm here too," said an unfamiliar voice.

"Lieutenant Fu, glad to have you with us." Haruto said, a little over-politely. Akira suspected he'd forgotten the Chinese-Dorssian existed.

"Let's retreat toward the hangar," L-Elf said, all business. "We'll need to enact our escape plan."

"Akira-chan! Look out behind you!" Inuzuka-senpai cried, firing his arm-mounted energy weapons past Little Witch's head.

Akira spun Little Witch around to see the two remaining Dorssian mechs block most of Inuzuka-senpai's attacks with their hard light shields. One was struck by a stray bolt in a leg and the limb vanished in a gout of purple flame. The two mechs powered down their shields and flung out their arms, a blue glow appearing in the barrels of the guns protruding from their chests.

VVV I opened fire on the mechs. But a swarm of drone Waffes swooped in a shield formation to defend them, and Haruto's shots only partially slagged some of the white armored slabs without breaking through.

"You gorillas wanna rumble?" Nobu Lightning shot past her in a flash of yellow, smashing into the Waffes. Its oversized hands crashed into points where four shields came together, collapsing the corners inward. The Valvrave grasped the twisted metal edges and ripped the Waffe shield wall apart by brute force. "Make way for Thunder!"

"Yamada, NO!" A-Drei yelled, as Nobu Lightning flew toward one of the Dorssian mechs, massive fist pulled back for a crushing blow with all its momentum behind it. "Retreat!"

Thunder didn't even pause. "YOU'RE MINE!" He roared, his Valvrave's fist plowing toward the face of the Dorssian mech.

The Dorssian mech fired. Point-blank into Nobu Lightning. Somehow, at the last instant, Thunder managed to turn his punch into an awkward slap, putting the hand into the path of the beam.

There was a flash of light, obscuring Akira's sight of the exchange. "THUNDER!" She heard someone screech. Was that her voice?

The other Dorssian mech fired a moment later. Beast High darted forward and caught the beam on his shield, its surface glowing white. As the attack dissipated, Beast High shifted its shield back to its shoulder-but the motion caused the middle section of the shield to slough away, breaking up into molten metallic droplets that floated free in space.

"It melted my shield!?" Inuzuka-senpai was incredulous.

There was another flash of motion as Carmilla launched her Spindle Knuckles, but Akira only had eyes for where Nobu Lightning was still locked together with the Dorssian mech. As the light from the explosion faded and the robots came into view, she gasped.

The larger arm mounted on Nobu Lightning's right shoulder was gone, along with the shoulder and the smaller arm on that side. Part of the Valvrave's torso was glowing white hot and melting-but its giant left hand was wrapped around the Dorssian mech's head.

_'He's okay!'_

Metal fingers closed around the enemy mech's face, crushing it in a puff of flame and debris. Saki's Spindle Knuckles reached the other Dorssian mech, but it knocked both spinning discs away using its energy shields. Nobu Lightning turned and hurled the downed Dorssian mech toward the still-active one.

The Dorssian mech blocked the tumbling wreck of its former compatriot too, but while it was distracted with that, Carmilla's Spindle Knuckles looped around for another pass, smashing it apart. Akira let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"Yeah! Trash like you can't-" Thunder cut off mid-boast. "Oh, shit." His voice was now coming over Akira's helmet speakers, meaning he had a cockpit breach and the vacuum was preventing his voice from reaching the microphone in his console. Several Ideals and Waffes were now advancing on Nobu Lightning, firing at the damaged right side of the mech. Akira quickly flew over to Nobu Lightning, positioning Little Witch to his right and returned fire.

"Thanks, Akira!" Thunder said. Akira caught a glimpse through the rift in Nobu Lightning's side of a tiny orange-suited figure giving her a thumbs up. She raised a hand back toward him, although there was no way he could see her.

The other Valvraves came up to support them, and the Dorssian ships quickly retreated after losing a few of their number. Nobu Lightning pointed after them with his remaining arm. "Come on, guys! Let's get em!"

"No," L-Elf said. "We must retreat."

"What? Why the hell? They're on the run!"

"Do you intend to fight their entire fleet?" L-Elf asked dryly. "We accomplished our objective, so we're finished here. Fall back to the Module hangar."

 _'The Module hangar? But won't we be trapped there?'_ Despite her misgivings, Akira found herself automatically following the Dorssian's orders, along with the other pilots. Carmilla and Beast High dropped to the rear to cover their retreat, Beast High blocking attacks with his remaining shield and Carmilla hurling her Spindle Knuckles towards the enemy forces to discourage pursuit.

"Akira Renbokoji," L-Elf's Ideal came up alongside Little Witch. "I need you to hack my Ideal."

 _'Hack?'_ "W-why?"

"This vessel isn't fitted with a beacon like the Valvraves. I'll need you to access my onboard computer and provide navigation telemetry so that I may enact the escape plan."

Akira didn't quite understand, but she did what L-Elf said anyway. By the time they were done, they were at Module 8's hangar. There was some brief resistance at the mouth of the hangar, but the Dorssians quickly retreated back into the hangar-and Akira quickly saw why: there were two Cruisers floating within the vast space, and three more Cruisers, including the _Tiberi_ , at dock.

The stupidity of their escape plan suddenly became clear to Akira. What L-Elf was telling them to do made no sense! Were they just going to fly into the [i]Tiberi[/i] in full sight of all the other Dorssians? There was enough firepower amongst the other ships to destroy the Royalist Cruiser four times over!

"Das ist A-Drei," A-Drei said. "Die vogel ihr nest kommen. Wieder, die vogel ihr nest kommen."

A series of explosions flared up along the inner docking ring of the hangar, where the Cruisers were berthed. Then all along the sides of the room, and finally at the mouth. At first Akira thought they were impacts caused by the _Tiberi's_ weapons, but massive opaque clouds quickly billowed from the points of explosion.

 _Smoke? Or...?_ It wasn't quite smoke, Akira saw. It seemed to be more like some kind of chemical vapor. Whatever it was, it rapidly filled the hangar, obscuring vision as much as heavy smoke cover would have done. Little Witch was enveloped in the roiling grey mess, and she could no longer even see Nobu Lightning, who had been keeping pace with her just on the left.

Akira heard a soft bleep, and the flat metal device clamped on the side of her console suddenly lit up. Rather than the solitary dot of holographic light from before, it now showed a curving strip of red pulsating light. She swiveled Little Witch slightly, and the strip of light turned in response. _'Huh.'_

"Oh, it's a homing device!" Rukino-san cooed in delight. "So that's what it was! Well, I could never resist the red carpet treatment..."

Akira fed her navigation telemetry to L-Elf's Ideal through Little Witch's uplink, and moved Little Witch along the route the homing device showed. The lights updated with her movements, and suddenly the mouth of a Dorssian Cruiser's hangar yawned open in front of her. She flew through it and found herself in the clear, hovering inside the _Tiberi's_ launch bay. She landed in the berth that had previously housed Little Witch.

"Is everyone here?" A-Drei as Carmilla and Beast High set down. Without waiting for a response, he launched into another babble of German. Akira felt the faint thrum of the deck intensify as the _Tiberi_ got underway.

 _'So they're really just going to fly out of here under the cover of that smoke?'_ Akira was impressed. It was a daring plan, but surely there had to be some record of the _Tiberi_ putting in at Module 8. Or did the Royalists have more people onboard the Module to get rid of those things too? Could they possibly keep it a secret?

The thrumming of the deck went on and on. There was still billowing smoke past the mouth of the _Tiberi's_ hangar, but even as she watched, it thinned and dissipated until only a field of stars remained. They had cleared Module 8. Akira tensed, her gloved hands ready on her controls, waiting for the deck beneath Little Witch to jump as they came under fire.

She waited and waited, but as the stars outside the hangar mouth slowly rotated, she sighed, relaxing. It seemed like they'd made it out safely.

Chapter 15 End

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to Christemo for beta-reading! And thanks to everyone for reading!**

**So I was initially planning for an action sequence on the Module, complete with a bit set piece where the crew hijacks one of those busses that Marie saw... even wrote a skeleton for it. But ended up not doing it because I thought it would be distracting from the space battle. T_T**

**Hope everyone enjoyed!**


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